Jacob's Love
by lbj
Summary: Jacob has been miserable after Bella left him one month ago.  But now there is someone new in La Push and he finds himself attracted to her in a different way that he was to Bella.  It is better than this summary. Jacob and other character.
1. Introductions

A/N: For you Jacob lovers… 

**Disclaimer Thing: Just by reading the first few sentences you can tell I am not Stephenie. What more need I say?**

Jacob's POV

I still couldn't believe what happened a month ago. Bella, my best friend if not something more, betrayed me. She had abandoned me and left me to go back to that filthy parasite. The most devastating thing was that she wanted to become one of them…a vampire.

I tried not to think of that word because it caused me to let off slight tremors of fury and despair. For one whole month I ignored Bella except for the few times I communicated to her. Instead of risking breaking the treaty by going to Forks, I wrote letters to her and she wrote back just as often.

I wasn't sure whether or not the letters were helping me or forcing me to grow even lonelier. Sometimes, the way she worded thing would make me feel like she wanted to be with them, but then she would say something like "I miss you very much and not a day passes when I don't think off you." What was I supposed to think? She was a walking contradiction. She wanted to be friends with werewolves and vampires at the same time. She longed to be with me, but couldn't stand to be without that leech.

For what seemed like the tenth time today, I found myself wishing that things could be easier. I wished that things could be the way there were before he came and ruined everything.

I sighed and went downstairs to cram in breakfast before high school. The three bowls of Frosted Flakes tasted like ash in my mouth but I continued to eat. After many sleepless nights out with the pack trying unproductively to catch the other vampire that sucked humans dry like a mosquito.

I dumped my bowl and spoon in the sink before heading out the door.

"Don't forget your math book, Jake." My father shouted at the other end of the house. "It is on the table."

I sighed and debated whether to go back and get it. I hadn't done my homework in any class for ages. I walked out the door pretending not to hear his calls. I knew that I would be lectured on my lack of responsibility when I got home, but for now I had more important things on my mind.

I got into the rabbit and went to school absent-mindedly. I got to school and went through the daily rigmarole of life. Quil came up to me and I gave him a halfhearted smile. Recently, he had just turned and this was his second day in school since the change.

"Hey, Jake." He had circles under his eyes and looked slightly worn down.

"How you doing?" I tried to be vague so that no one could understand out hidden meanings if they eavesdropped. "Are you in control?" 

He nodded slightly and I smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Quil." I tried to be comforting.

He scoffed. "It isn't like I have anything to be worried about."

I tried not to flinch at his sarcasm. "Let's go. You can't miss anymore class."

He went to Chemistry and I went to Lit class, or as it is called in our school 'American Literature.' I sat down in my normal seat towards the back corner by some of my friends. I chatted with a few people that I knew to an extent until class started. Not to brag, but a lot of people at my school liked me. Unlike Quil who flirted with girls who were already taken, I was more of the boy-next-door type because of my friendliness.

As the teacher started to drone in the front about the Tempest and how Miranda's secret feelings for Ferdinand were inspired by Prospero. I slowly zoned out until it was only a slight buzz like background music in a movie. I let my thoughts wander back to the person I cared the most about. Bella.

Just as I was thinking about how unfair life was that a bloodsucker could woo and win the most beautiful girl I have met, the door to the class opened and Mrs. Fox, the councilor at my school, started to whisper to the teacher in a hushed tone.

Some people took this time to giggle and gossip quietly about conversations they had in the beginning of class before school started. I leaned back and closed my eyes.

It felt so good to just relax. I hadn't done so in days, if not weeks. I felt myself drifting off to sleep and slowly tried to prevent it. Not that I was worried about missing part of class, but I didn't want to get into redundant trouble.

The teacher cleared his throat and I open my eyes just as the hum of voices stopped. "We have a new student today." He turned to the girl that was standing right next to him. "Would you care to introduce yourself Ms…….." He let the question fall into air and I looked at the girl.

She was stunning. If Bella was beautiful, she was gorgeous. This girl outshone Bella by a ten fold. I felt slightly guilty about thinking this, but it was true.

The girl had long braided black hair that shone all the way to her knees. Her skin made mine look feeble in comparison because she was a beautiful copper color that seemed to gleam. Her eyes were impenetrable and deep brown that was almost black. They were framed in heavy black eyelashes that made her look like a movie star or a goddess. Just looking at her lips made me want to kiss her….

What was I thinking? I felt myself avert my eyes from her beauty even though I wanted to keep staring until the worlds end. Could I be so easily over Bella just by glancing at a stranger? No, I couldn't. This girl may be pretty, or even slightly more than that, but she didn't have Bella's charm or any of the things that made me love her.

_That is right, Jake. _I told myself. _You love Bella and only lust for this girl. She can't compare…_ I listed all of the reasons why I loved my Bells in my head. I missed her introduction entirely while I was listing. It did clear my head considerably and I found my thoughts going back to Bella again. Until that sweet seductress came over to sit right next to me.

**A/N: Is it good/bad/maybe sad? Tell me your thoughts/opinions after the purple button and I will try to get back to you. I don't beg for reviews but criticism is the only way that** **helps me improve. I love when people point out my mistakes, even though that may sound slightly weird. I can get more happy about those comments than if you say "I like it. Update soon. You are nice and good at writing." That is blech! Don't be like them. Rise above the influence. **


	2. Nina

JPOV

As she slid into the seat next to me I stared open mouthed at her. Her hair swished across my desk and I felt an urge to reach out and touch it. Completely illogical…I know, but it still didn't make me want to less. I wondered if it would feel the same way that Bella's did.

At the thought of Bella I remembered what I was doing. I was practically betraying Bella. Even though we weren't going out or even speaking to each other, I still felt guilty for thinking thoughts about another girl. Welling up the courage to speak to her I took a deep breath.

"Erm," I cleared my throat and she turned and stared at me with wide eyes, or maybe that's how her eyes always were. "Hey. I'm Jacob." I smiled.

"Nina." She smiled showing all of her teeth. She either was perfect or someone spent a lot of money on orthodontists to make them so straight and white. "How ya doin'?"

I thought I heard a slight twinge of an unusual accent but I couldn't place it. I decided to talk to her to find out about it. "I'm fine…great actually. How 'bout you?

"Here and there." She shrugged. "I suppose that I could be far worse."

I looked at her inquisitively wanting to know more. "Worse?"

"Oh, I was talkin' 'bout being new and all. I'm not used to it, you know. I always lived in the same small town." She gave a weak and timid smile and looked embarrassed.

Internally I cursed to myself. She was far too pretty for her own good, but now she was shy and nice on top of that. If she was dumb and had a snobby attitude it would be easier to dislike her.

"Well, don't worry." I couldn't help but grin wider. "La Push is a terribly small town, slightly bigger than Forks, but it is very small. Everyone knows everything about everyone."

"Sounds like my old town!" She let out a laugh that sounded like bells ringing. Bells. I tried not to laugh with her, but not even the thought of my dear sweet Bella stopped me. "Luckily for me, I do know a few people here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Who?" I was sure I knew them. When Nina gave the answer I was surprised that I knew them very well.

"Someone called Quil Atera…have ya heard of him?"

"Yes!" I chuckled. "He's one of my best friends. I wonder why he didn't say anything about you…" I knew that Quil liked to brag about his girlfriends and I was surprised that he hadn't shown me a picture of Nina before.

"Oh? He didn't say anything?" She looked slightly disappointed. "I probably should have expected that because I moved here on such short notice and all." She waved her hand gesturing to air.

"So are you his girl?" I asked politely. At least now I couldn't feel any feelings for her. I felt myself breathing a sigh of relief and the temptation grew slightly less prominent in my head.

"Oh no!" She laughed as though I had just said an inside joke, although I felt like I was kept out of it. "I'm his cousin!"

My heart acted irregularly at that for a moment. That would mean that she was free….free for me! I was not sure whether to be happy or scared at that prospect. I just nodded.

"So, how 'bout you?" She asked me throwing me for a loop.

"Me what?"

"Do you have a girl?" I could have sworn she leaned in to hear my answer.

I thought for a moment. "Well…sort of…kind of…not really…" What was Bella?

"Is it a guy?" Nina asked looking confused. I laughed.

"No." I said between chuckles. "No it isn't. I just don't know…exactly where…um my. …relationship stands. Does that make sense?"

"Sure." She looked sort of sad but pleased at the same time. Nina was very different than anyone I had met before. There was just something, some quality about her personality that attracted me and made me want to know her more.

"So," I said changing the subject. "Where are you from?"

She put her hands in the air. "I'm a Mississippi gal! I forgot to mention that!"

That explained the accent. "So how long are you gonna be here?" I heard my own voice turn hopeful for a reason I didn't quite know.

"Who knows!" She flashed her teeth at me again. "Maybe a month…could last a year or even my whole life! I don't know. All I know is that I don't want to spent the rest of my life with my Aunt and Quil. There are some good things about this place though."

I could have sworn she looked at me even more that she already was. "Oh," I asked. "And what would those be?"

She looked at her hands. "Well, there is a nice sky when it is sunny, the beaches are pretty and people are very nice here." She looked up to face my eyes.

"People are nice everywhere, you know." I teased her trying to lighten the mood. All of the sudden it started to seem slightly serious. "You just need to meet the right ones."

"Well, I found the right ones."

I stared into her eyes unable to look away. Luckily the teacher asked me a question about Antonio's part in the Tempest, so I had an excuse to look away and clear my mind.

I don't know what it is, but there is something about Nina that is dangerously attractive.

**A/n: Sorry if it is short but I want to get on to the main plot! I hate intros and I like the drama! So…..yeah. Negative reviews keep me happy for a minute. Positive ones keep me happy for an hour. Long reviews keep me happy for a day. But a good well rounded critical review…priceless.**


	3. Jacob

NPOV:

I slid carefully into the seat next to the boy that looked so peaceful. He was relaxing and looked so carefree with his eyes closed. When I sat down in the blue seat, he stared at me.

I started to feel slightly self-conscious and I swished my hair to make it look like I didn't notice his stares. I felt him watching me and I tried very hard to not look over at him.

Just then I heard him mumble something and clear his throat. "Hey. I'm Jacob." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but looking at him. Up close he was even better looking than he was across the room.

I smiled a great big smile when he didn't look away. "Nina." I stated trying to sound more mature than I was. "How ya' doin'?"

"I'm fine…" He leaned in slightly as if out of his will. "Great actually. How 'bout you?"

"Here and there." I used the phrase that my ex-boyfriend used whenever he couldn't describe something. I was really elated to be talking with Jacob, but I couldn't let him see that. I wouldn't want to scare him away. "I suppose that I could be far worse."

I would be worse anywhere other than next to him.

Jacob looked slightly confused and raised an eyebrow at me. "Worse?"

"Oh, I was talkin' 'bout being new and all. I'm not used to it, you know. I always lived in the same small town" I started babbling like I always do when I feel anxious. Why was I anxious? I knew the answer to that question but I didn't want to admit to myself what effects Jacob had on me.

I gave him a smile that wasn't as big as the other one I gave him. I knew that I was from a small town, but I didn't think that I would be this bad at meeting people.

He didn't seem to notice my lack of social skills. "Well, don't worry." He smiled showing all of his teeth. I felt myself wanting to kiss him. "La Push is a terribly small town, slightly bigger than Forks, but it is very small. Everyone knows everything about everyone."

I found this comforting. "It sounds like my old town!" I laughed surprised at how natural it sounded. Generally, I have trouble laughing with people. My openness with Jacob surprised even me. He must have an extremely friendly personality. "Well, lucky for me I do know a few people."

_I don't know what I would do if I were entirely alone. _I added in my head.

"Who?" Jacob looked genuinely curious unlike some people who just wanted to make small talk. It seemed like Jacob actually cared…as corny as that sounds.

"Someone called Quil Atera…have ya heard of him?" I thought he might if the town was as small as he said it was. He might have been exaggerating though.

"Yes!" He chuckled softly to himself as though I told him something funny. "He's one of my best friends. I wonder why he didn't say anything about you…"

I was somewhat surprised that Quil hadn't said anything. Normally he is a chatterbox and will talk forever about anything he can think of. He has told me the same joke several times because he doesn't know what else to say. My mom, his Aunt, used to tease him about how he loved the sound of his own voice. That was before she died.

I knew that Quil had something on his mind the past week because of his gloomy depressed attitude, but I wasn't expecting him not to mention my coming. I also didn't expect the feeling of disappointment and sadness that he didn't tell Jacob about me.

"Oh? He didn't say anything?" I tried to cover my disappointment with a mature and serene look, or at least that is what Cosmo called it. "I probably should have expected that because I moved here on such short notice and all." I waved my hand gesturing to air trying to move around the tension.

"So are you his girl?" Jacob asked politely.

"Oh no!" I laughed thinking at the ridiculousness of the thought. I am sure that a century ago it would be, perhaps not normal but maybe less abnormal, to see cousins marry. "I'm his cousin!"

Many unreadable emotions crossed his face and he just nodded. For a moment we sat there with our own thoughts. I was thinking about whether or not he had a girlfriend. Most likely a guy like that would!

After a minute of waiting I raised my fears into a question. "So, how 'bout you?"

He looked confused. He must not have been thinking about couples and things like that. I felt slightly let down that he wasn't thinking about me in a girlfriend crush sort of way. "Me what?"

"Do you have a girl?" I leaned in slightly in anticipation. _Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. Please say no. _I tried harder than ever to force him to say no. I tried to send thoughts into his brain that told him to ditch any girlfriend he might have and to hang out with me.

After a tense minute he answered hesitantly. "Well…sort of…kind of…not really…"

I took in a deep breath. I was relieved he hadn't said yes straight out, but upset he didn't say no. Oh no! A thought just rushed into my head. What if he is gay? No! That would be too cruel to us girls! Why are the good ones always gay or taken?

I tried to play it calm. "Is it a guy?" I tried to cover the fear in my voice with confusion.

Luckily for me he laughed. I took that as a no.

"No." He said between chuckles. "No it isn't. I just don't know…exactly where…um my. …relationship stands. Does that make sense?"

I understood now. He was having girl problems. Either his crush didn't like him in that way or it was the other way around. Unrequited love and too much attention could be the worst things in the world. Not for the first time I wondered why we all didn't just love the person who loved us back.

I nodded along though even though my heart was breaking on the inside. "Sure." I said trying not to show how hurt I felt that there might be someone else.

_Don't be stupid._ I told myself. _The other girl came first, Nina. You can't expect to just waltz into his life and have him fall instantly in love with you. You stink at romance and you don't deserve him._

I wanted to yell at that voice in my head. I wonder if everyone has a voice that is stuck on the you-suck channel.

For a moment neither of us spoke and I felt it becoming slightly awkward. "So," He said changing the subject. "Where are you from?"

I was happy to have a lighter subject. I put my hands in the air. "I'm a Mississippi gal! I forgot to mention that!"

His voice was hopeful. "So how long are you gonna be here?"

I was most likely overanalyzing but I thought that he might be wanting me to say for a long time. I knew that it wouldn't be that long, but after meeting Jacob I felt like staying quite a bit longer.

"Who knows!" She tried to make a flirtatious smile. "Maybe a month…could last a year or even my whole life! I don't know. All I know is that I don't want to spent the rest of my life with my Aunt and Quil. There are some good things about this place though." I looked up at him trying to charm him. I had never flirted before and I was surprised at how well it was working by the way he was staring at me so intensely. But then again, everything Jacob did was intense.

. "Oh," He wondered. "And what would those be?"

His gaze was so strong that it forced me to look down at my hands. I noted that my nail polish was chipping and I cursed myself for not doing it the night before. "Well, there is a nice sky when it is sunny, the beaches are pretty and people are very nice here." I tried not to look up at him as I said that, but my attempt was unsuccessful.

I swore in my head. Now he would know that I have a secret, or not so secret, crush on him.

"People are nice everywhere, you know." He teased me and I felt disappointed. The mood had felt slightly more serious. "You just need to meet the right ones."

"Well, I found the right ones."

We gazed into each others eyes until the teacher called on him to answer a question. I felt stunned and overcome by the feelings of electric pulses that went through my body when he had looked at me. I was starting to feel warm even though the air conditioner was on ice blast.

As I left the classroom I realized that I didn't just have a schoolgirl crush on Jacob. I was in love.

**Whew! Nina is a hard POV! Sorry for backing up but I just wanted to do this now rather than earlier. I don't write in order. I have more ideas in my head for chapters 8 and 10 than for chapter 5 or 6!**


	4. Pack Meeting

**Thanks to all the reviewers. I love you!!!!!! kisses you all I especially want to thank…****EntrustingLove****Vampiratelvr****WinterGurl13****SabinaGirl****lambgirl1**** and some more people…but I stink at names.**

**Disclaimer: You've read enough of these.**

JPOV

I ran to catch up with Nina in between classes. She had left early and she walked pretty fast for someone that was her height. I had to use just a little bit of my newfound strength and speed to catch up, but I was sure that the people around me didn't notice. If they did I am sure they would just think it was because of my abnormal height and long legs.

"Hey!" I waved to her. "Nina! Slow down!"

She spun around and when she saw me she smiled. "Sorry." She gave me an apologetic look. "I was just caught up in thinking and I didn't notice…sorry."

"It's no problem." We both began to walk at a slightly slower pace. For a werewolf it was a terribly slow speed, but for a human I would be speed walking. I noted to myself that she walked pretty fast for a normal person. I always had to slow to a snail's pace to walk with Bella.

"What class d'ya have?" She asked.

"Next?" I said somewhat stupidly. "Erm, I have Gym with Coach Clapp."

She let out a sad sigh. "Oh," She glanced at the piece of paper in her hand. "I have…Chemistry with someone called…Neal."

I inspected the list in her hands. The classes were listed but only the teacher's last names were on there. There was no mention of whether they were a Mr., Ms. or Mrs.

"It's Mrs. Neal, and she is pretty nice as long as your cell phone doesn't go off in class. She takes great joy in taking apart people's phones and giving them back one piece at a time."

She looked up from the sheet to face me. "Thanks." She reached into her purse that I hadn't noticed her carrying before. It had lots of shiny letters on it and from the little that I knew about bags from my two sisters, I knew it was designer.

This was another way she was different from Bella. I wasn't sure how I could like two people that were so different.

After Nina had turned off her sleek camera phone, we were in front of her class. We said our goodbyes and I went to the gym.

In the locker room Embry asked me, "What are you smiling about?"

I just shook my head because for once in the last month, I was not depressed. I felt alive and I knew that it was all because of her.

Later on 

For the second time in the week, and it was only Wednesday, the pack had an unofficial meeting. Sam called it because of something new that was going on but he didn't give us the details yet.

"Are you ever gonna tell us or are we going to sit here all day?" Paul grumbled.

Sam let out a sigh. "Patience." He continued. "Besides, Quil isn't here yet."

"Can't we just go on without him?" Jared asked. "He's late anyways."

Embry, the more calm one of us, stepped in. "Why don't we just wait a few more minutes. I'm sure that…"

"I'm here!" We heard Quil call as he walked through the front door. "Sorry, my mom made me show Nina around."

"See." Sam looked at Paul and Jared. "I knew there was a reason."

I heard Paul mutter under his breath, "'Cause you know very thing, I'm sure."

Sam either didn't hear it, not likely, or he ignored it. Quil sat down and shifted around trying to get comfortable. He was probably hot.

The first few weeks after I was changed, whenever I was in my normal form, or as normal as a werewolf can be, I felt like I was sweltering. The heat was unbearable. Luckily it slowly dimmed down until I just felt warm all of the time. I only felt that fire like heat when I was extremely emotional.

Sam says that the heat is to help us fight the cold ones, because they can't stand high temperatures.

"So," Sam started. "There are a few things that we have to get straight. Quil will tell you of the new arrival."

"Um…" Quil shifted some more and ran his hands through his short buzz cut. That was another thing we did to keep cool, we chopped off all of our hair. "Well, my cousin is here and so she has to stay with me."

Sam saw that he wasn't in a talking mood and began to explain more about the situation. "She doesn't know about what we are, so whenever you boys go to Quil's house…Keep. Your. Big. Mouths. Shut!"

Everyone in the pack other than Sam was clenching their jaws together. That was an order we couldn't disobey.

"Am I clear?" He asked us.

"Crystal." I answered nodding my head.

Sam smiled. "Good." He shut his eyes and rubbed his temples with his first two fingers. "Now to more important things."

We all looked at him intently. He only rubbed his temples like this when he was very frustrated or mad with himself.

"We have a problem with the red headed one." Sam sighed. "She seems to have stopped trying to get to La Push territory."

"Well that's good, isn't it?" Asked Jared.

"No, no it isn't." Sam looked several years older than he really was. He looked like a real adult, not like a kid. When he was worried like this I could see him as an Elder. There was a wrinkle already starting to form in his brow. "Her lack of trying to come through here means many things.

"The first is that she realized that Jake," He looked at me. "And Bella, do not hang out here. This means that Bella isn't here, so the vampire has no need to be here."

"That's good!" Jared still was confused about where Sam was going.

"No it isn't!" I tried not to yell, but my voice was rather loud for being inside of a house. "That means that that the leech will go to Forks!"

"So?" Jared stood up. "It is still off of our lands!"

"But Bella lives there! That monster will come there and kill her!" I gave up on trying to cool my temper. I was like a teakettle growing hotter and hotter by the second. "We aren't even allowed to go there without breaking the treaty! How are we supposed to protect her from…"

"Enough!" Sam barked and I stopped talking immediately even though I had more to say. "Jake, don't think that I don't know the danger. I know that she will be put at risk, but so are the people of La Push. So, I've decided to let things play out."

"Let things play out?!" I felt myself becoming more mad. "Just leave her out like she is on a dinner plate for that filthy bloodsucking demon? Are you insane?"

"No." Sam said with a twinge of annoyance in his voice. "She has the others, the Cullen's, to protect her. We can do no more."

"Yes we can!" I stood up and the couch shook a little. I felt myself starting to shiver. "We can. We don't have to just let her be vampire food! We can't give up!" I said somewhat desperately.

"And what do you propose we do?!" Sam raised his voice. "We can't do anything other than hope that they will protect her. We are doing this for La Push…not just Bella, Jacob."

I growled. "What if it was Emily? What if she was the one being hunted by vampires? What would you do Sam? I bet that you wouldn't just let her be hunted…or would you!?"

"Jacob! Grow up! Things aren't just about you, there is a bigger picture. You are so single minded you can't see anything other than that girl. It is killing me to do this and you act like I am just giving up! I'm not!" His voice was at a full yell. "We all like Bella, but we have to protect others too."

"You didn't answer my question." I said trying my hardest to keep any emotion out of my face. "What would you do if it was Emily?"

Sam remained silent giving the answer I wanted. "Just go, Jake." He whispered.

I knew it was an order to keep me calmed down. I gladly obeyed just to get out of Sam's house. During the argument it seemed to grow smaller and claustrophobic. I felt good to be in the free air.

I ran in my wolf form to the middle of the woods closer to my house. I breathed in the pine-scented air deeply. It felt fresh. I enjoyed it and morphed back to human in the middle of a clearing.

I sat down on a fallen tree and just thought.

I must have been there unmoving for an hour when I heard a branch snap. I would have guessed it was a deer until I saw a female figure running quickly away. I ran to keep up.

**A/n: Who do you think it is? Review with a nice critical review. Point out my mistakes and I will give you some cookies! munch munch Although…I might eat them all if you aren't fast enough! (I won't…I can only eat a few cookies)**

**Thank you to all of you who offered to be my beta's! Although some of you don't have your PM option open. (That would be you lambgirl1) So I can't talk to you thanking you! That is sad.**

**So…on with the program. I will most likely update one day. So, be glad! I have actually forgotten about some of my stories until people review them. Then I actually think about whether I really wrote the story or not.**

**(Once I forgot I wrote the story and read it again thinking that it was someone else's! I only remembered at chapter 3!)**


	5. Authors Note

**Sorry but this is slightly…possibly… important! For all of you people who actually read my stories…or maybe just this one……..I have an important announcement. I made a new chapter and you may not notice it because I put it before chapter 3/now 4. So basically chapter 3 is new…4 is old. Just for clarification!**

**BJL**


	6. Forest

NPOV

After school I rode home with Quil in his secondhand car from the 70's. I started talking to him about it and he took the bait. For the rest of the ride home he talked nonstop about different makes of cars. I nodded in the right places and even though this conversation was boring, I was happy that Quil was talking again.

Before we knew it, we were at his little yellow house. I hadn't noticed before because I had only recently seen the house in the dark gloom of rain, but the pain on the siding was starting to peel away and it looked uncared for.

Quil led me inside and took my brand new (well they were new to me even if they definitely were not new) books. "I have to go to my friends…"

His mother, my aunt, cut hum off mid-sentence. "You will do no such thing until you have shown your cousin around." She had a wooden spoon in her hand and was wearing her ugly flowered apron. This meant she was cooking again.

"But mom…" Quil whined like he used to as a little kid. It was slightly hysterical to see a 16-year-old guy that was not lacking in the muscle department complaining. "The guys will be mad if I'm late."

"Well, it is your fault." His mother waved the spoon at him. "You could have shown your guest around before but you put it off."

"But it was raining before! I couldn't show her anything other than the house."

Aunt Lucy scoffed and ignored what he just said. "Quil, now." She ordered.

I was slightly surprised that she could be so firm. She was normally a very soft and gentle person. I decided to step in before a family argument arose.

"You know, Auntie Lucy," I said giving my sweet girl-next-door smile. "It's really okay, I have been here before with Quil and I know my way around."

Her eyes softened at me but when she looked back to Quil she was very serious again. "No…I think it is better if Quil shows you around."

"But mom…"

"No buts!" She waved her spoon at him again. "No, you go show lil' Nina here around because I have to go back to cooking otherwise the food will be all burned. So if you excuse me…"

She left leaving me and Quil in the foyer.

For a moment there was an awkward silence. "You don't have to take me." I said to him. "You can go with your friends, I don't mind."

"No, I better show you around." He looked frustrated but not with me. I think that there was just a build up of exhausting moments. I didn't want to be what pushed him over the edge.

"Well, okay." I said slightly less cheerfully than normal. "So what is there to see? Jacob said that…"

"Wait…you talked to Jake?" Quil looked at me inquisitively. He had the exact expression that Jacob had earlier on. They looked like twins in a way.

"Um…yeah." I said stupidly.

He looked at me trying to read my expression. "So, you talked to Jacob Black?"

I just remembered that he hadn't mentioned his last name. I told Quil this.

"Was he tall with dark skin, short hair…" Quil listed off more traits that all described the person I had met and fallen in love with.

"Yeah, that sounds like Jacob."

Quil frowned. "Don't call him Jacob."

"Why?" I asked trying to get more information about Jacob from Quil.

"Because no one calls him that except teachers and Bella." He frowned harder as he said her name. "We all call him Jake."

I thought of the name Jake for a moment and said it out loud to try it on my tongue. It fat him perfectly. "Who's Bella?" I asked.

"It's a long story." Quil changed the subject. "So what did Jake say about this place."

"He said it was small and he talked about the forests." He did. For a long time after I realized I was in love with Jacob…no Jake, we talked about our favorite places. He said he liked the beaches but his favorite spot to relax was in the forest hidden away form everyone.

"Can we explore the forests?" I asked Quil.

He chuckled at my enthusiasm. "Sure. Lets go, but I don't want to take to long."

We walked through his backyard and into the forest behind it. I heard the birds and the leaves song in the wind. I understood what he meant about it being refreshing for the thoughts. Quil and I didn't say much but we just enjoyed walking through it.

I walked slower than usual to take it all in and not loose any moment of it. Back at my home, there weren't any real forests. People planted them all and they were never as big and breathtaking as the one in La Push. This one was greener too.

Everywhere I looked it was a bluish green. My favorite color grew on everything. You could barely even see tree trunks because they were overgrown with moss.

We walked for five or ten minutes even though it seemed longer before Quil stopped.

"Well, I am gonna go. Can you get home from here or do you want me to take you home right now?" He looked at his watch anxiously.

"No, no," I said looking up that the sky but seeing only the treetop canopy. "I want to stay here for a bit more."

The thought of leaving this place so soon was heartbreaking.

"Well, okay." Quil said in a hurry. "If you need to go home just go that way." He pointed in the direction I came from. It seemed easy enough.

"Okay…fine…great." I breathed. "Bye."

He waved over his shoulder and ran back to the house. I stood where I was.

For one minute I didn't move an inch. I was like a statue of a person frozen in the middle of the woods. After a minute I felt antsy. I wanted to run. Somewhere. Anywhere!

I ran through the woods going as quickly as I could. It felt good to run this fast and feel the wind in my face blowing back my hair. I hadn't run like this for weeks. Never before had I felt so free running either. I felt like I was a deer or a gazelle in my habitat. More graceful that ever, I jumped over logs and fallen branches. I was at home.

The best part about running here was that no one was looking at me and expecting anything. They didn't want to see a good student or a perfect girl with a good sense of fashion just because I was pretty. I felt like I was myself. Nina.

After a nice good long run I leaned back against a tree in the middle of a group of plants. I was hidden from sight of everything but I could see everything. There was a clearing of plants to the right of me and to my left was a family of Squirrels.

For a minute I just watched them. There was a mother or father, I couldn't tell, and two little newborns that could just walk. They scratched along their branch in the tree while the mother/father guarded them. When a hawk passed by the parent took them under her tail in a protective manner and hid them against the edge of the tree.

I wished that my father would be that protective over me after my mother was gone. In the end, he just stopped caring. He would be lifeless like a zombie for days after she died. Everything that was special to her was put away in a group of unlabeled boxes downstairs. Sometimes he would sneak down there and just go through it.

I think that my mother had tried to prevent us from pitying her and doing exactly what he would do. When she told us that she had breast cancer she said to me, "Nina-Lina, don't feel bad. It happens to us all."

She was talking about death, but sometimes her words could fit any situation.

I heard a snap to my right and slowly turned as stealthily as I could playing it wasn't a bear.

It wasn't but it was something much bigger. There was a giant wolf standing there in the middle of the clearing. I didn't breathe or move for what seemed like an eternity. I tried to keep close to the tree behind the green plants so that it wouldn't see me. What happened next was that the giant wolf turned into a person.

Not just any person, but Jaco-Jake!

I stared unable to look away from his skin. He was very muscular and I hadn't noticed before in class because of his loose shirt. Now he wasn't wearing a shirt. In fact, he wasn't wearing anything at all.

I should have looked away, I normally would have looked away, but because it was Jake I was unable to. Everything about him was perfect. For a long time he just sat on a log with a thoughtful expression on his face.

I admired him at a safe distance. I wondered what he was thinking about. Was it me? Was it a girl called Bella? What was it? I wanted to ask him but refrained.

At least a thousand times I thought of whether or not to admit I was here. But then he would know I was spying on him. After a long time of my internal debate I gathered up the courage. I leaned forward to enter the clearing when….

A branch snapped and I looked down. He looked up towards me and I thought he could see me.

With all courage lost I ran for it in the opposite direction towards the safety of Quil's house. I heard him running after me but that only pushed me farther.


	7. Wolf

JPOV:

"Hey!" I shouted running after the girl. She was faster than anyone I had met, except perhaps Nina. Could it be Nina? What would she be doing in the middle of the woods alone?

She didn't turn around and just kept running. She was too far away for me to see clearly and she was running between branches and trees nimbly. If I weren't a werewolf I would have lost her trail long ago.

I pushed on farther trying to get closer. Slowly I was catching up with her, although I might not make it in time before she reached Quil's house. This thought egged me on and I was only a few feet away.

She turned around to look at me and that was all the time I needed. I caught up to her and grabbed on to her arms swinging her around to face me.

She was unsteady for a beat and I held her up the same way I always did with Bella when she was about to fall. Nina flushed a bit and her copper skin turned more reddish.

"Hey." I breathed slightly unsteadily. I tried telling myself that my irregular breathing was from running but I knew that it was from being so close to Nina.

She looked down at the ground. "What are you?" She spoke to the dirt.

For the first time I became worried. "What did you see?" I asked not answering her question.

She looked into my eyes and I realized that she was very short. Perhaps not shorter than Bella, but she still had to crane her neck to look at my face. She whispered something.

"Sorry," I said confused. "I didn't quite catch that…"

"I said," She spoke louder. "I saw you turn into…no I saw a giant wolf turn into you. Are you a wolf or Jaco-I mean Jake?"

I sighed. She had confirmed my fears. Sam would be furious at me, but at least I didn't disobey what he said. He just told us not to tell her what we were. Showing was technically different from telling.

"What if I said I wasn't exactly human?" I said vaguely.

"I don't care." She said truthfully. "Just, what are you? Are you really a wolf…is that a wolf?"

If it weren't my problem I would probably laugh at the confused expression that she was sporting. However, the situation was too serious to laugh at.

"I'm a sort-of wolf." I thought about it for a while. "Well, not really…but yes."

"Is it like your sort-of, not really girlfriend Bella?" She asked looking at my chest.

"How do you know about Bella?" I asked astonished. Could she read minds like that parasitic leech that Bells loved so much?

"Oh, that…um…" She looked up from my chest and back to my face. She looked like she was having troubles deciding whether to tell me the truth or not.

"Tell me the truth, Nina." I tried, unsuccessfully, to say it persuasively.

"N-no." She stuttered and flushed slightly more.

"Please…" I tried to use the voice that I used to calm Bella down when she was scarred of something.

"Quil." She breathed. "Qu-Quil said something about Bella."

I was going to kill him. "What did he say?"

"He just mentioned the name, but he didn't say anything about her." She looked up at me dazed. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing." Quil might survive now…at least he didn't say anything about Bella.

For a moment we stood in silence. I broke it.

"So, why did you run?" I asked Nina.

She looked bemused. "I didn't want to bother you. You looked so peaceful, so thoughtful. I couldn't disturb you."

"Oh…" It didn't answer my question but it did tell me that she had been watching me. I felt my heart skip a beat at that thought.

"So, what are you really?" She asked.

"Any guesses?" I asked trying not to say anything. I couldn't because of Sam's orders. I could make her guess like Bella, and this would be easier because she saw me change. I don't know how Bella guessed.

"Um…it may sound silly, but are you are werewolf?" She looked at my face trying to make me answer one way or another. My only problem was that I couldn't tell if she was hoping I was or wasn't one. It was most likely the second.

"What if I said yes?" I inquired.

"It doesn't matter to me!" Nina projected loudly. "I don't care if you turn into a giant wolf. Honest!"

I believed her at once. Her honesty was amazing and shocked me slightly. Bella always tried to reserve her emotions but Nina told it like it was. I told her I believed her and she smiled.

"Well, that's good." She said and we smiled at each other. "One thing though…"

I tilted my head questioningly.

She covered her face with her hands. Through them I could hear a muffled "Coulf ya get shome clothes am…"

**A/n: What do ya think? The plot will pick up in about 2 chapters...posibly three if I keep adding in all of this Nina stuffsch. Do you think that I should continue doing both pov's or just stick to Jake with Nina here and there?**


	8. Dinner

I blushed furiously at the memory of yesterday. I was lying on my bed, or the guest room bed at least, and staring at the moving fan/light that was rotating. I kept thinking of the past and some fantasies of what might happen.

I had more conversations in my head with Jaco…Jake in the past day than I have had with him ever. The only problem is separating my dreams from reality. It would be really awkward if I brought up something from my fantasies into real conversation.

Anyways, yesterday was one of the best and most mortifying days of my life. It was amazing because of Jake's presence and the fact that he is a werewolf. That is major cool, as my old friend would say. The only drawback to our meeting like that was his lack of clothes.

Where is a girl supposed to look when there is an extremely fine tall guy standing naked in front of you? I had trouble keeping my mind, and eyes, on the conversation.

Just then Quil's mom called me.

"Coming Auntie Lucy!" I yelled not moving.

After one minute of lying there I decided to get up. It was hard to move after so long of staying still. I pulled myself off and walked to the kitchen where she was calling me.

"Finally!" Quil said not taking his eyes off of the food on the table. "What took you so long?"

"Shut up." I couldn't think of a witty comeback.

"Hush, you two!" Aunt Lucy was carrying over a steaming pot of homemade pasta with hot pads. "You bicker like dogs."

I laughed thinking of Jake. Why did everything remind me of Jake?

Quil sat back farther in his seat and grumbled, "I'm hungry."

"So am I." I said still smiling. "But look at me! I can wait one minute for food."

"You're a girl." He looked at me for the first time. His food must miss his yearning stares so much.

"What does that have to do with anythin'?" I asked huffily.

"You don't need food as much." He returned his gaze to the freshly roasted butter breadsticks.

"And why is that?" I raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

"Well, girls don't like to eat because they get fat…"

"Quil! Don't tell me that you actually believe those stereotypes?" I tried to look terribly offended even though secretly I was enjoying this. "Have you ever seen me eat?"

"Yeah…well you aren't normal." He put.

"Why thank you." Sarcasm was my middle name.

"Besides," He stated "I work harder than you so I am hungrier."

"Oh yeah?" I sunk into my chair. "And what do you do that consumes so much energy?"

He opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. I think that he had something to say as an excuse but he didn't want to, or was unable to, say it in front of me.

I took this opportunity to say something. "See? You don't do anything energy consuming!"

He looked frustrated but still kept his mouth closed. I had won and that thought made me smug for the rest of dinner. He seemed to be very mad at me but I didn't care.

Halfway through the meal I wondered if Quil knew that his best friend was a giant wolf. I didn't think so because it seemed like it was Jake's special secret and he didn't seem like the type to wave around his problems to get attention.

This thought made the rest of my night fantastic. Jake and me had a special secret that no one knew about. The day couldn't get any better.

**A/n I am sorry guys but…I will not update for a long long long long long time because of holiday! It is the 4****th**** of July weekend though so most American people will be busy just like me! Still, I will only get to a computer possibly Thursday or Friday. Then I will be in Washington! Yay! **

**So, erm, what else…. Oh yes! Before I forget, I want to thank ya'll for readin' this! You are the best! I know that this isn't a great story but I am enjoying writing it more than any other story I have written before. Sadly people don't like this one as much as my others though. Aw well.**

**I am hoping that when I get to the turning point of the story that you guys might like it more.**

**Oh and sorry for the short chapter. The authors note is almost longer than it….I don't think that is good.**


	9. Dreams

JPOV

For the first time in one month I didn't dream of Bella. I didn't even think of her that whole night except for once. I felt slightly guilty for not thinking of her more, but I also didn't feel that painful longing for her. Was it possible to fall out of love?

The strangest thing was when I thought of Nina, which was very often; I didn't feel like I was cheating on her. (Not that we were going out, but still…) I almost heard her saying _Go for it, Jake. Be happy. _

It was very strange and unexpected.

When I went to bed I didn't stay up tossing and turning for an hour before sleep came to me. I was able to let the haze just come to me without a struggle. I was thankful for that. My dreams were strange though. It started out with the bloodsucker.

_Edward Cullen stood in front of me. We were going to fight, possibly over Bella, and I was almost sure that I would win. There was great anticipation looming in the air._

_Then I smiled and he backed away and turned into Sam. I wasn't surprised in the dream because it just seemed normal. Sam smiled at me and I saw him get older and older. One moment he was twenty and the next he was middle-aged._

_He continued to age until he was ancient. He was eighty or so, perhaps even older, and he was still smiling that same smile. It was slightly creepy, but he still looked just like the Sam I knew now._

_Emily came up and walked up to him, she was old too, and she clung to his arm. They were as lovey-dovey as they were at home. Her scars seemed to have faded a slight bit but they were clearly visible on her face. A reminder of what we were forever._

_Emily talked first. She said only one word, but there was so many meanings behind it. _

_She said "Love."_

_That was all she said before smoky fog covered them from my view. I walked towards the beach, even though I couldn't see I still knew where it was. When I arrived there, the fog was almost all gone until it was just licking my feet._

_I felt a hot wind blow across my face and I shivered. Against my will I turned into a wolf, but it wasn't as big or brown as my normal wolf form. It was just an average grey wolf._

_I wagged my tail knowing that something good was about to happen. Even though it was dark and there was still fog around, that was known to be a bad omen, I knew that things we good._

_I trotted happily across the beach until the cliff that Bella jumped off of was in sight. I stopped knowing that something was about to happen._

_As if by magic, the pack appeared exactly like they were the day Bella first saw them cliff diving. In the exact same order they jumped off with their arms raised. Even though it was the same scene I had seen before, there was no sense of deja vous._

_I stood there waiting for something to happen. Just then another warm breeze blew my way. With it I caught the sickly sweet smell of vampire._

_I turned around to see a Cullen. Edward was standing there with his arms outstretched in a friendly way. Almost like he wanted me to hug him. _

_He spoke softly but I heard all the same. "You can have her."_

_He was offering me Bella but for a strange reason I shook my head. I was somehow back in my human form even though I didn't change. I didn't want Bella to be my girlfriend anymore. I realized that she was just a crush and that she was more like my sister than a lover. _

_I knew that I didn't think of her in the same way as Nina. I backed up and Edward disappeared into heavier fog._

_I turned around looking for Nina. I had to find her to tell her something. I had to tell her that I loved her from the moment I saw her._

_I ran through the forest knowing that she wouldn't be on the beach. She had to be in the forest. Somehow I knew that she was a part of the forest. I ran as fast as I could and I realized that I was going to slow. I needed to see her immediately or something terrible would happen._

_Not wasting anytime, I shifted to my giant russet brown wolf form while running. I gained speed and slid around trees quicker than a bullet. But I still wasn't fast enough._

_I pushed harder and harder until I was going faster than physically possible. Still, I felt like I was too slow. I felt like I was letting down Nina and that thought nearly broke my heart._

_I searched through the whole forest trying to reach Nina. She was no where and everywhere at the same time._

_I heard her laughing to my right and I saw her to my left. But no matter where I went I could never catch her. I was growing tired and if I couldn't catch her soon, I never would be able to._

_Just as I was giving up, I shifted to my human form. I felt tears streaming down my face and I sat down on the log that I was sitting on when she saw me before._

_I let my head fall in disappointment. It seemed like I had been running for hours. Just then a small hand lifted my chin. I immediately thought of Bella even though I was wrong._

_I had never been gladder to be wrong about anything in my whole life. It was Nina and I immediately pulled her into a giant bear hug that would have crushed her bones._

_She hugged me back with just as much enthusiasm. I kissed the top of her forehead and I was still crying. Only now my tears were of joy instead of regret and loss._

_Slowly she pulled away and looked me in the eyes._

_"I have to tell you something." I tried to say, but nothing came out._

_She put a finger to my mouth to quiet me before backing up. She held up a hand to tell me to let her say something._

_"Jacob," She used my full name and for some reason I liked it more than when she called me Jake. It seemed more natural for her. "I have something to tell you."_

_She sighed before continuing. "I have a secret…a deep dark secret that no one know about. I shouldn't even be telling you but…" _

_She stopped and gave a weak smile just like the one I tried to give Bella when attempting to tell her my secret in her bedroom. This wasn't Nina's secret to tell._

_After a hesitant moment she began again. "Let me show you."_

_She stepped back and took a deep breath preparing herself for what was going to happen._

Just then I woke up sweating. I was terribly disappointed that I wasn't able to finish the dream. It seemed important and more real than just an ordinary dream. It seemed like the truth even though I knew that it was impossible for Sam and Emily to be that old so soon, and it was impossible for me to be a grey wolf.

My dream, even though impossible, told me something I hadn't realized before.

I wasn't in love with Bella. In fact, I never was. I loved her, but like a sister. I didn't know what real love was until I met Nina and I had confused it with the brotherly love that I felt for Bella.

That confirmed one thing in my mind. I was in love with Nina. But what was I going to do about it?

**This was a sort of important chapter I think so that is why I wanted to get it in before I traveled. But 2 chapters in one day are good, right? **

**Reviews make me happier and push me to update more. But I won't force you to.**


	10. Visiting Old Friends

JPOV

It was Saturday and I woke up early because of my dream. Normally I sleep in very late so that I can catch up on lost sleep. If I had it my way, I would make school start at noon. Still, today I was up out of bed early because I knew I had to do something. And that something involved seeing Bella for a talk.

For the last month, the closest I had been to speaking to Bella was through notes that were passed via a friend of mine. But this time a note wouldn't do.

The subject of Nina was something that had to be told face to face.

I was excited and nervous when I got out of bed so I took a shower to calm myself down first. I was planning to spend a long time, but I was too anxious to see Bells.

I drove to Forks with my mind caught on Nina. Everything around me reminded me of Nina. I was so helplessly in love. I had confused the feelings I felt for Bella as love, but I realized that I just didn't have anything to compare her to. I had thought that because I liked her in a different way that Embry or Quil, that I loved her.

Now, when I looked back on it, I recognized that I felt protective of her like a brother. I had wanted to hug her tight and kiss her hair, but not much more than that. When I thought of Nina I thought about doing far more passionate things, making out being the most G-rated.

After thirty minutes I arrived at her house. It was 7:28 and Charlie's police cruiser was nowhere to be seen. He must have been out early to go on that fishing trip my Dad was talking about.

That made me happy because I could talk to Bella alone.

Just as I was walking up to her door, I caught an overpowering scent of sugary sweetness coming from her room. It was such a vile smell that I had trouble not gagging. I remember first thinking that it was Bella's perfume at the dance.

Even though every fiber in my body told me not to go in there, I knocked on her door.

Instantly, the door swung open to reveal the bloodsucker standing in the doorway with a particularly nasty expression on his face.

"You're not supposed to be here." He wrinkled his nose. "Go away."

I was about to say something equally as rude but Bella spoke first.

"Edward!" She reprimanded him. "He's my friend."

"I think he has a bit more than friendship on his mind." He spat back. His tone was slightly nicer when he spoke to her though and I could see the love in his eyes. He was just as agitated by me as I was by him.

I thought about what I was going to talk about with Bella and how I had lost any interest of wooing her. I prayed that he was reading my mind.

He turned to look at me and looked confused as though he was trying to see if it was a trick to let me alone with her. Apparently he believed my sincerity after a moment and nodded.

Bella looked confused and her face grew even more puzzled as Edward bent down to whisper something in her ear. He left quickly and the smell grew less retched even though it was still there.

"Jacob?" Bella asked. "What's going on?"

"Can I talk to you?" I looked at her with pleading eyes. "Please?"

"S-sure."

I pulled her over to the sofa and sat her down. I didn't think that I was moving to fast but she seemed disoriented.

"Bella," I started off and realized that I didn't have a clue what to say. I should have thought about it a bit more. "I'm in love."

She raised her arms. "No!" she looked at me with pity. "Don't say it Jake! You know that I don't feel the same way. I have Edward. Please understand because I…"

"No, no!" I interrupted her. "It isn't you. It's someone else."

Her eyes brightened up promptly. "Really, Jake? Who is it? Do I know them?"

I nodded and raised a hand to quiet her so I could explain.

"I am sorry, Bella." I began. "I thought that I loved you and I think that made our friendship slightly uncomfortable for you. I didn't mean to, but I really thought that you were the one because you made me feel …I don't know what I felt.

"But, now I am in some trouble because I really am in love with someone. It isn't just love like what I feel for you or anyone else. It is more like…"

I paused trying to think of what it was. Bella helped me out. "Like what I feel for Edward."

"Yeah, like that." I nodded my head. "But that is where the problem is."

She leaned in sympathetically. I gathered my thoughts before continuing.

"You see," I looked at my hands. "She doesn't love me back in the same way. Well, I don't think so anyways. I don't think she really feels anything for me other than maybe friendship.

"Besides, she could do so much better than me. She is gorgeous and funny and each and every detail about her is perfect. I can't stop thinking about her and I only met her a few days ago. She is so amazing that I wouldn't be surprised if she already has a boyfriend. I should have asked her that but I didn't."

I sighed and recollected my ideas. I was starting to babble.

"Anyways, she is like an angel and I have no hope of getting her. What should I do?"

Bella looked at me strangely. "You're asking me for relationship help? Why?"

I rolled my eyes. "First of all, you are my friend. Second, you are a girl and therefore know more about the female mind than I do. Third, there are a ton of guys that have crushes on you. How do you do it?"

"There are not," She emphasized the not, "a ton of guys that like me. I am just normal. It isn't like I try to get guys to like me."

"Whatever," She was missing the point. "But the main thing is, what should I do?"

"How would I know?" She raised her arms in a typical Bella fashion.

"Okay…" I tried to reword what I meant. "If a guy was trying to impress you, what would work?"

She looked thoughtful and didn't speak for a while. I wanted to hug her for looking so cute, but I refrained and waited patiently.

"If I were to be impressed by a guy," she said after a long time of thought. "I would want them not to try and impress me."

"Gah!" I ran my fingers through what used to be my hair. I would never get used to how short it was. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I wouldn't want the guy to try to impress me." She smiled. "Don't try to act like someone you aren't. If you try to show off you will look stupid."

"Thanks." I said sarcastically.

"No," Bella tightened her eyebrows. "That's not what I meant. I meant that you are cuter when you just act like your normal charming self. You are good enough for anyone and if that girl can't see that, she isn't worth it."

I wasn't sure whether to be offended or take it as a compliment.

"Jake," she sighed seeing that I wasn't convinced. "Don't act like you are trying to impress her. Think about it this way. If that girl put on tons of make-up that made her look like a lady of the night…"

I laughed at her. Only Bella would use that term for a prostitute. Sometimes I felt like she was stuck in the wrong century and I could tell why she and that leech who had probably been haunting this place since hoopskirts were the latest thing, got along so well.

"Don't interrupt me." She didn't look pleased that I was laughing at her. "AS I was saying…if a girl paraded around you and fluttered her eyelashes acting like a dumb blonde to impress you…well, would you be impressed?"

"No," I said trying to not laugh again, "…not really, but I don't see what this has to do with…"

"It is related." Bella interrupted me. "You see, if you try to act like someone you aren't, then the girl won't like you. And even if she does like you, she won't really because she will just like the person you are acting as. She won't really like what makes you the Jake I know.

"That's the reason why I liked you so much in the first place." She went on. "You were the only person that I have ever met that is totally honest about themselves. You didn't try to act like someone you weren't or say something just to please someone. You were you. You were so open and nice just because it was part of your personality.

"That is what will be the thing to win her heart." Bella closed her eyes. "Unless you can do that…well…just be yourself, okay? It may sound like something from a bad movie, but just be yourself."

I didn't say anything for a while because I was busy thinking. Bella seemed so serious about this. It made sense in theory, but I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. If I was concentrating so much on being myself I would be unable to really be myself.

I closed my eyes and sighed. After several minutes I felt a small cold hand pressed against my cheek.

"Jake?" I opened my eyes to see Bella's face right next to mine. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I said softly. "I am just sort of stressed."

"She's really important to you," stated Bella in a hushed tone. "I can tell."

I smiled weakly. "I just don't want to let her go. I don't want her to slip by. I have to tell her….I have to at least try. She's special. I know it. If I let her go back to Mississippi…oh, I just couldn't bare it, Bells."

She wiped a tear that appeared on my cheek. "Shhh." I felt her soothingly rub my face. It was comforting. "You don't have to say anything."

We sat like that for ages. She curled up next to me after a while and I hugged her. It had been so long since we had been together this way. We both knew it would come to an end soon and so we relished it and cherished every moment. This could be the last time we were every together alone again without someone else barging in.

It was sad to know that we could never be friends because of our families' conflicts. It was similar to Romeo and Juliet that way, although we both were in love with someone else.

After an hour we were interrupted. That just goes to show that anything good can't last.

Edward Cullen jumped in through an open window and landed like a cat. Everything about him was feline and it made the canine part of me want to bite him. I suppressed the urge to hurt him though for Bella.

He walked over to her and kissed her mouth lightly before pulling away.

"Bella," He said, "Please take a shower."

"Why?" She didn't understand what he meant at first even though I knew what he meant immediately. "Do I stink?"

"You absolutely reek of werewolf." He looked like he was holding his breath.

I exited without saying anything because I knew that our conflicts would never end. We may have peace now, but it is impossible for a werewolf and vampire to ever be friends.

**A/n: Whew! This is the last chap I can write for a week. So enjoy it and be glad it isn't a cliffie. I wasn't going to write one but EntrustingLove forced me to…so blame her.**


	11. Home

NPOV

For the first time in my life I wanted to go to school on a Saturday. Not for the education of course, but just to see Jacob…or as I should say…Jake.

Strangely that nickname just won't stick in my head. It feels like it is the wrong name for him. Jacob is perfect but Jake sounds like a name for someone else. Maybe that's because I knew a Jake at my old school that had a horrible personality that was quite opposite Jacobs. He was nasty and rude to his friends and teachers. I remember him pulling on my hair in elementary school.

I couldn't imagine Jacob pulling on any girl's hair, possibly braiding it, but never pulling. Jacob was too sweet to ever do something like that. I think that was one quality that made me love him all the more.

He was different from other boys in that way. He was a light in darkness. I wished that I could deserve him.

I sighed and brushed my hair harder. I had been brushing the same part of my hair for the last half hour. It was very smooth but was now starting to frizz up a bit and make me look like I had been electrocuted. It wasn't a very flattering look so I patted it down roughly.

When it only made my hair look matted down, I gave up. It didn't matter how I looked today because I wasn't going to see anyone who would care. I had just been planning to hang around the house today with Quil and my aunt.

Sadly, these plans were ruined. Auntie Lucy was busy in the kitchen making a giant meal for dinner that involved heavy cooking. I think that she had planned to be a gourmet chef but her pregnancy with Quil stopped that dream. His father never got married to her and later ran off with a young model whose name is never spoken in the house.

If Quil were here I would hang around him and bug him. I used to do this often when I was little and I earned the name mosquito. I stopped a few years ago but it was still fun to bug him by staring at everything he did over his shoulder. Although, now I couldn't reach his shoulder so it wouldn't work as well.

But because he wasn't here, that put a stopper on that idea right away.

I counted the lines on the wallpaper. I had gotten to 396 before I lost count.

I sighed and slumped back onto the flowery guest bed. I was officially bored. I couldn't think of anything to do.

It wasn't that I had a lack of ideas; I had plenty, but it was the fact that I couldn't do my ideas. I couldn't' very well waltz over to Jacob's house and ring the doorbell to see if he could entertain me.

I didn't even know where Jacob lived!

After what seemed like several hours I decided to go outside for a walk. I chose not to walk on a sidewalk or around the block. I took a walk through the woods.

Even though I had only been in here once, I knew the forest by the way things looked and sounded. I never second-guessed where I was and knew it almost instinctively. My feet led me even though my brain wasn't recognizing it.

Quicker than before, I found myself in the clearing that I saw Jacob in. It wasn't a meadow, but more of just an area where nothing would grow other than a few ferns. It seemed older than the rest of the forest though.

I sat down on the spot that Jacob had sat on and ran my hands over the bumps and ridges on the bark of the log. It felt familiar like I had been here in a past life. This whole place felt like home.

I had never had a home, a house, but never a home. I never had somewhere that I felt good to be at.

I heard a sharp noise and turned around quickly to see someone watching me.

**A/n: This is the last you will read for a long while! Mwuhahahaha. It is a sort of cliffie to prove I can be mean.**


	12. Running Fast

NPOV:

I jumped involuntarily and turned around to see who it was.

"Nina?" Jacob asked confused. "What are you doing here?"

I blinked stupidly. Great. Now Jacob was going to think I was a complete idiot. I stuttered out a noise that sounded like…well, I don't know what it sounded like. Although I was guessing that it wasn't too intelligent sounding.

"Wait one sec…" Jacob saved me from saying something more idiotic unknowingly. "How'd you get here?"

I shrugged. "The same way as last time. I walked, why?"

"You walked all the way here from Quil's house," He looked astonished. "Twice?"

"Yeah." I was still confused. "Is that a problem?"

"How long did it take you to get here?" With all these questions I was starting to feel more than slightly dumb.

"Not too long." I thought about it. "Maybe about fifteen minutes…possibly twenty."

"Are you sure?" He looked like he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle. "It's five miles from here to his house. That would take longer than fifteen minutes to walk."

"Well, I didn't really walk." I said looking back. "I sort of ran."

"Nina," He ran his hand through his short hair. It seemed like he wasn't used to it being so short so I guessed he had just cut his hair shorter. "No one can run five miles in fifteen minutes. No human, anyways." He added.

I was entirely human. Not a normal human, but I was at least human. I tried to change the subject. "So how fast can you run?"

He looked taken aback. "Um, fast. Really fast."

"Very descriptive." I said sarcastically. "How long would it take you to run five miles?"

"As a wolf or like this?" He gestured to himself. I couldn't help but noticing how nicely his shirt hugged him.

"Both." I said softly trying not to blush at some of the thoughts I just had involving me and him without that shirt on.

"As a wolf I could probably make it there in about five minutes…as myself maybe about twenty. I normally don't run when I am like this though because being a wolf is so much more exhilarating."

After he said that he looked like he wanted to take it back. I didn't think that he said too much but he obviously did.

"So who else knows?" I asked.

"Knows what?" If I was right, Jacob was looking at my chest area. He either really wanted to read my shirt or he was trying to see…well, that thought was too good.

"Knows about your wolfiness." I smiled.

"Is that a word?" He asked.

"Who knows! Do I look like Webster?"

Both of us laughed for a moment. It wasn't really funny, but just being together made me happy.

"Wolfiness…" he said between laughs, "I think I might tell that to the pack."

"The pack?" I asked curiously.

He swore. "I shouldn't have said that."

"Too late!" I repressed a giggle. "Now you have to tell me!"

Jacob frowned and a slight crease formed between his eyebrows. It was very cute. "Who says I have to?"

I leaned in so that there was only a meager inch between our faces. Flirting wasn't my greatest talent but I had learned to do it in order to get information out of people.

"Please." I bit my lip slightly while pouting. I hoped that it would work because if it didn't I would feel like the biggest fool. "Tell me."

Jacob looked into my own eyes as if I had hypnotized him. After a while he turned his head and averted his eyes. I heard him mumble "Damn, she has no idea how much she affects me."

Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. He could have muttered. "Damn, she has no idea about anything, including me."

"Who is in the pack?" I asked. "Are there more of you?"

"There's only one Jake if that is what you mean." He still was looking at the log to his left instead of at my face.

"You know what I meant." I sighed.

He turned to face me. "I'm not the only werewolf."

**A/n: So! I am here again! Not that any of you noticed I was gone, but I would like to think you did. I am going to write more soon and I am sorry but this chapter was mostly fluff. Some wasn't. But I don't think you noticed that. I at least try to think I am subtle. Anyways…here's a test.**

**What kind of reviews do I like?**

**Answer right and I will update soon! (And no…the answer is not any kind of reviews…sorry.)**


	13. I see dead people

JPOV:

I was surprised at how calm Nina was as she took in all of this information. When I first heard that supernatural creatures were real and that I was one of them, I couldn't believe it. For a while I thought it was some dream or a really good practical joke. Even now it is sometimes hard for me to accept that I am a gigantic wolf.

Nina just nodded and listened. The only sign of shock was when I told her that Quil was like me. She seemed to recover quickly though as if it all made sense.

I finished up my story and looked at her waiting for her to change her mind about me and say that I was a freak or a monster. She didn't.

"There is just one thing I don't understand," She said slowly. "Why do you turn into werewolves? Why do they exist? Why?"

"I dunno." I shrugged. "My closest guess is that we are meant to be like this to protect people from vampires."

"Vampires exist?" She didn't look as scared as she should have been. She looked almost curious.

"Yeah." I muttered under my breath. "Filthy leeches."

Nina laughed. "I take it that vampires and werewolves don't get along."

"Yeah, well," I rolled my eyes. "That's probably the only thing that the media got right. Everything else is total…um… garbage." I edited my word choice so she wouldn't think that I swore all the time.

"Nice, Jaco- I mean…Jake." Nina quickly said to cover the fact that she was going to say my full name.

"You know," I said quietly. "I don't mind you calling me Jacob. Honestly, I actually kind of prefer it when you say it."

"Sorry, Jacob." She smiled. "But Quil told me that you hated to be called Jacob and that everyone called you Jake."

"Well, Quil thinks Jacob is to hard to say. They two syllables are stressful for him."

When Nina laughed my pride welled up. We both knew that Quil was smart, but he sometimes could say stupid things. For instance, he would say that he wasn't the sharpest stick in the drawer. I still haven't met a person, other than Quil, that keeps sticks in a drawer.

"So, it's okay if I call you Jacob?" She asked again for reassurance.

"Yes," I leaned in slightly. "It is more than okay."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" She still looked slightly wary as if I was lying to make he feel better. "I mean, if you don't…"

I cut her off mid-sentence. "Shh, Nina. If it were anyone else I would want to be called Jake, but when you say Jacob…I don't know…it just sounds more natural for you. It is more Ninaish."

"Ninaish?" She looked at me funnily. "What now? With the way things are going we will have made up enough words to fill up a dictionary when the day is done. How about Jacobish or Werewolfish?"

"Very funny, Nina." I said sarcastically, but I couldn't hold back my smile.

"Thanks." She said grinning back at me.

For a moment we just stared at each other. It wasn't awkward because it felt right. I couldn't believe that I hadn't known Nina for even a full week. It seemed like we had been like this forever. Not even Bella and I clicked so easily.

Just then Bella's words ran through my head again. _Be yourself._

As I heard those words it became hard for me to just be myself. Concentrating on not concentrating would be easier. I became very self-conscious at that moment. My arms were just at my sides and it felt sort of unnatural. I tried to cross my arms but felt uncomfortable. I was acutely aware of everything about me that was wrong.

I breathed in and tried to stop thinking about not thinking. I closed my eyes for a moment and just relaxed.

Suddenly, I felt warmth on my cheek. I open my eyes quickly to see Nina stroking my cheek with her hand.

"What's wrong?" She asked knowing me too well. It was hard to believe that we hadn't been this way for years. Maybe we knew each other in a past life. I didn't really believe that stuff but now it seemed more likely.

"Nothing." I mumbled and tried to change the subject away from me. "Why are you taking this so well?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know," I said gesturing stupidly to the air. "How come you aren't surprised that there are werewolves and vampires running around loose?"

"Oh that?" Nina gave me another of her heart stopping smiles. At least they stopped my heart, I don't know if it works on other people. "I am sort of used to it."

I gave her a look to continue.

She let out a heavy sigh. "I don't really want to talk about it right now, but I suppose I should tell you some of it. I owe you that at least. For telling me about your secret, I mean. Okay. I am blabbering. Sorry."

"No, just continue." I said ready to be patient. For once, I was very curious. Normally I didn't feel the need to know people's secrets but I wanted to know more about Nina.

"Okay," She looked to the sky. "Where should I begin?"

"At the beginning?" I suggested. She gave me a look to say she wasn't amused even though I could see her mouth twitch as if she wanted to smile.

"Well, it started out when my mom died." She started slowly as if choosing the right words determined life or death. "She had cancer, you know, and I was pretty stressed out when I found out because of other things as well. And then it just seemed like she dumped one more thing on me. It was overwhelming.

"The part that felt the worst was that she was hiding it from us, my dad and I. Anyways, by the time she told us she only had a month or so to live. She had kept it a secret 'cause she didn't want us to worry about her."

She paused and looked like she didn't know where to continue. After a while I gave her a bit of a start.

"What kind of cancer?" I asked.

"Breast cancer." She said automatically. "Well, so then after about two months of being in the hospital, she died. It was sort of sudden for me. I know that might sound stupid because I spent those two months knowing that she was gonna die and I knew that if she didn't die from cancer that she would die from something else, but still…it made me sad all the same."

"I'm sorry." I meant those two words more than anything.

Nina let out a sad chuckle. "You have no idea how many times I have been told that by complete strangers. It's always 'I'm so sorry' and 'I know just how you feel' but they don't mean it. Not really. They are just words to them. I think you are the only person who actually might have meant it."

"I did." I said softly.

Nina looked down at the ground. "I am not sure where to go with this because it gets really weird from here. Sort of paranormal if you get my gist."

"Don't worry." I murmured. "I am pretty much used to freaky stuff by now."

"Yeah, but I am not so sure you will believe me." I didn't think that she meant for me to hear that so I just waited.

She sighed. "After my mother died, I became kind of depressed in a big way. School sucked and all of my friends were unsure of what to do around me. The worst part was how teachers would give me pity looks and come up to me after class to tell me how their mothers died."

She let out a laugh. "As if they even know…their parents died when they already had a secure life. Their parents died when they were in their eighties. My mom was only in her thirties. High thirties admittedly… but still! No one understood me. Not even my dad."

Her voice cracked and I wiped away her eyes, which were starting to tear up.

"Thanks." She said unsteadily.

"No problem." I gave her a hesitant smile and she smiled back. Although the sight of her smile being so sad broke my heart.

"Well, enough of this pity fest." She said when she was feeling less teary. "That was just the beginning."

"The beginning?" There was some indescribable powerful feeling in my chest. It was angry but miserable. "No one should have to live through any of that."

"But there's more." Nina fiddled with her hair and twisted a strand around her finger and then unwound it over and over again. "Right after my mom was dead I felt really lost and confused. But as time went on, I became less lost, not because I was accepting it, as the counselor at my old school would say, but because I was mad.

"I was furious that my mother was dead and I wanted to blame someone, anyone, for the fact that she was gone. I spent a lot of my time that year looking up death in giant books. The librarian thought I was crazy and no doubt emo, but I would check out books that were really weird. Most of them were total crap of course, but I still kept reading."

I stopped her from twirling her hair around her index finger again by holding her finger. It was a different sensation from touching her than anything I felt before and I liked it.

"A-anyways." She bit her lower lip. "There was one book that didn't sound like it was made up by some idiot hoping to discover the meaning of life. I read the book cover to cover because it was so interesting. Not all of it pertained to me, but I still found it fascinating. Do you think that's weird?"

"Not at all." I shook my head slightly.

"The book stood out to me, it think, because it was the only scientific book. The rest were a bunch of hokey pokey."

We both smiled slightly.

"Well, anyways…um…oh yes. So, there was this one part in the book about seeing dead people and communicating with them. I was so desperate that I didn't even think of it as ridiculous at first. I wanted so badly to just see my mom again…I-I can't…there's no way that…"

She let out a deep sigh and I smiled at her encouragingly.

"Jacob, will you think I am fanatical for telling you what I am about to?" She asked me with her head tilted to the side and her eyes gazing up at me miserably.

"Never." I breathed. "It is impossible for me not to believe you."

She muttered something under her breath that I didn't catch. "Well, I read that book and I kept getting caught on the exorcism page because it was so confusing and difficult. I understood that some people just could see ghosts, that's probably why there are so many people that go to Ripley's saying they've seen ghosts or whatever, but I couldn't understand how I could see them. I wanted to know what I could do to see them."

"That's not crazy at all." I whispered when she stopped talking. "I think that it is probably the most sane thing you could have done in your position."

"But that isn't it." She looked frustrated. "I didn't just try to see the dead…I did! I…oh it's so complicated."

"What did you do?" I was intrigued.

"Well, on the exorcism page there was a lot of stuff about getting rid of spirits and stuff. I interpreted the page to mean that as long as there was a soul, you could bring it out and send it to the 'spiritual plane' or whatever you want to call it.

"I performed an exorcism on myself…well actually I got my freshman neighbor Mark to do it, but that isn't the point. The thing was that I did it. I went up to somewhere between heaven and hell or whatever is out there. It reminded me of a creepy waiting room sort of. I went up to some guy and asked him if I could see my mom…"

She stopped. I was not sure why she stopped but I waited for her to continue her story.

"Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this." Nina looked at the ground as if she wasn't seeing it.

"Why not?"

"Things are complicated for me right now. I don't want to loose you…as a friend I mean." She added quickly.

"What if I don't want to just be your friend?" My mouth was talking but I wasn't sure were the words were coming from. Well, actually I did. They were coming from my heart because apparently my brain must have not been working.

"Are you serious, Jacob?" She looked wary yet hopeful.

I leaned in so that we were only an inch apart. "Dead serious."

She chuckled and I felt her breath. Before I could stop myself, my lips were on hers. Let's just say, Nina was a brilliant kisser.

When we finally pulled away we were both flushed a bit.

"Does this mean we're together?" She touched her lips slowly as if she didn't believe that we were just kissing a minute ago. To be honest, I didn't either.

"If you want us to be." I said.

"Of course I do, Jacob." Nina looked at me incredulously. "But if you don't want to then…" Her voice trailed off.

"Nina, don't be an idiot." I smiled.

And then we were kissing again.

**A/n: I know I know… I didn't finish Nina's story. But now I am getting to the good part. That was just stupid boring background info. Sorry if you had to read it. It was actually fun for me to write..but probably boring to read for you. (That is if there is anyone actually reading it. Sometimes I think that reviwers just review without reading.)**

**But Jake and Nina are together.**

**IMPORTANT: Readers (or at least people who pretend to read) vote now. Do you think I should just do a bit more fluff and end the story very fluffy-like or should I do a very long action packed story with a really plot. Because right now I can go either way. So vote! (By voting I just mean review and say which one you want. Or you could just review and tell me how much you hate me. I have yet to receive a true hate review and I really want one.)**


	14. Cinnamon Cookies

Short fluffy. Dedicated to The Greeter of Darkness and all my other reviewers. 

JPOV:

Together, Nina and I went back to Quil's house. At first I walked slowly to keep at a human pace, but then when Nina speed up and started calling me a slowpoke, I walked faster.

Somehow it ended up in a full on race, and to her word, Nina was like a cheetah. I purposefully fell behind at least a foot so that I could watch her run. She was graceful and fast. Unlike Bella, she could jump over decaying material nimbly without tripping.

She won smiling.

"I win!" She lifted her arms in the air in an Olympic medal winner way.

"Yeah," I grinned back at her. "I let you because you're a girl." I knew that whenever you told a girl that you gave them special treatment, they would get all huffy. Nina didn't disappoint.

"No way." She put her arms on her hips. "I won fair and square. You can't just stand loosing to a girl!"

"You can tell yourself whatever you want." I put my hands in the air. "But I defiantly let you win."

"Oh yeah?" Nina grinned from ear to ear. "Does the wolf want a rematch?"

"Not today." I said. I was pretty tired from the running to be truthful. I was surprised that Nina wasn't even bothered by the fact that she had just run 5 miles.

"Scardy cat!" She laughed. "Or should I say dog? You know that I am just gonna win."

"You keep tellin' yourself that." I knew that she was right though.

"Whatever." Rolling her eyes, Nina tried hard not to laugh. "Boys are so weird."

"I second that motion." I mock raised my hand. "How do you put up with us?"

"Well," She smiled and looked mischievous. Was that a good sign? "There are a few good things about guys…"

"Do share."

Looking thoughtful, Nina started. "For one thing, you are good for killing spiders and stuff…"

"Oh yes…what would you do without us to kill your bugs?" I said sarcastically.

Nina continued although I saw her mouth turn up. "You are also good for something that all females need."

"And what's that?" I asked.

"This." And she kissed me.

When we were done kissing in Quil's backyard, we went inside and she forced me to sit down on a sofa while she left to go to some other room.

For a long wait, I just sat obediently on the couch where she left me. Finally, she entered with a plate of steaming hot cinnamon cookies and two glasses of milk.

"Mmmmmm!" I said admiringly. "How'd you know I was hungry?"

"Well, if all werewolves eat as much as Quil does…" She trailed off.

I snatched a cookie and took a bite. "Yeah! We do eat a lot. Thanks."

Or because my mouth was full of cookie, it probably sounded like "Mweah! Wie do eah amwat. Dankes."

She laughed though and put the glass of milk on the coffee table before sitting down right next to me.

I picked up a cookie before she could grab one and fed it to her. She smiled and took a bite out of it. I ate a piece of the same cookie and gave the rest to her.

We continued sharing like this and feeding each other until all of the cookies were gone.

"These were good." I said appreciatively. "Did you make them?"

"Nah!" She giggled. "I can't cook cookies. I always manage to burn them."

"That sounds like my cooking."

Just then Quil's mother walked in.

"Hey Auntie Lucie!" Nina beamed. "This is…"

"Jake!" Mrs. Atera smiled in her normal cheery way. "Of course I know little Jakey-Wakey! He's been Quil's best friend ever since he had that obsession with Spiderman!"

"I was five." I muttered to Nina's great amusement. "Spiderman was cool back then."

"So did you like my cookies?" She seemed to be asking Nina more than me. She knew that I would be willing to eat anything.

"They were absolutely delicious!" Nina smiled.

"Aw…thanks, dear." Mrs. Atera blushed. "They aren't that good. It was just a recipe I cooked up. So, did it need anything? More sugar? Less cinnamon?"

"Tasted perfect to me." I shrugged.

She played with her ring on her left hand. "Well, you boys will like anything I give you."

I laughed. "Because you're a great cook!"

"Well, erm…" She started to sneak out the door towards the kitchen. "I have to go check up on the shrimp ceviche. I have to make sure the shrimp are cooked well before I can start…although that sort of beats the purpose of the ceviche…well, must run!"

She slid out of the room and left Nina and me alone.

"We're all alone." I pointed out stupidly after a moment of silence.

"So," She sniggered. "What are you gonna do about it?"

I kissed her.

**R&R to make me feel better and update sooner. **


	15. Reviews

**A/n: It is sort of sad, but there are a lot of people that read it but there are only an average of 3 people that review each chapter. There is an average of 100 people that read each chapter. (I don't count the first chapter though because the first chapter gets an unreasonable number of hits because you have to go to that page before opening anything else.)**

**So…I just want to ask for a few more people to review. It isn't too hard if there are 97 people not reviewing. At least 5 of those could press the little lilac button.**

**If you think I'm stupid you can say that.**

**I just want to know that there are real people reading it. If people don't review then I don't feel like anyone is there so I don't update. This leads to stories being DISCONTINUED! Anyways….just don't be lazy.**

**Summary: Review**


	16. Exorcist

NPOV:

Never in my life had I been a happier person. The fact that Jacob loved me back still had me stuck in awe. I thought that it would be impossible for him to love me when he had a sort-of girlfriend. But now I was his real girlfriend. I win!

"Jacob?" I was sitting in his lap on the flowery patterned couch. Jacob was breathing into my hair and occasionally kissing my head or holing me tighter.

"Yes…" He kissed my hair again.

I sighed. "What about your sort-of not really girlfriend Bella?" The question pained me to ask, but I couldn't leave the topic alone or I would stress over it all night.

"She isn't my girlfriend Nina." He squeezed me. "You are."

Is there something as too much happiness? Because I definitely have it! Not that I am complaining.

For what seemed like an infinite amount of time, we just sat there. Occasionally we would whisper something sweet to each other, but we also enjoyed the silence. 

Of course, nothing good can last forever.

Aunt Lucy walked in looking very pleased with herself. "Oh, hi dears!" She said cheerfully. "Jake, do you want to stay for dinner toni…" Her voice trailed off as she looked from me to Jacob. She raised her eyebrows and smiled as if she had played matchmaker and it had worked. Sometimes I don't understand her.

"Sure." Jacob smiled at her expression. "That is if you can feed me and Quil at the same time."

"Don't you worry about that." She looked from me to him. It wasn't hard seeing how our faces were right next to each other "Did I interrupt something though?"

"No, not really." I looked at Jacob's face. "I was just going to show Jacob upstairs."

"Lovely." My aunt beamed. "You do that now, and oh! You've grown so much since the last time I saw you Jake!" she said as he stood up.

Jacob tried to hide his smile. "You just saw me the other day, Mrs. Atera."

"Yes, well…" She looked him up and down shaking her head. "You boys grow so fast. I remember it was only yesterday when you and Quil only came up to here." She pointed to her hip and smiled. "Now you are so big...I don't ever remember the boys being so tall when I was young. Not that I would mind if they were…oh no…not at all."

I tried to repress laughing at how my aunt's face looked as she remember the old days when she was sixteen. "We'll be going now." I pulled Jacob's arm and he came with me willingly.

"Yes, bye now." She said still dreaming. "I'll call you two lovebirds for dinner."

Jacob chuckled and we went off to the upstairs hallway.

I was just going to show him around when he stopped me.

"You know, Nina." He smiled playfully. "I've been here before so, you don't have to give me a tour. In fact, I could probably give you a tour."

"Okay," I blushed slightly. "What do you want to do then?"

Jacob grabbed my hand and pulled me into the guest bedroom where I slept in. He gently pushed me so that I was sitting on the bed and then he sat next to me.

"Nina," he picked up my hand and began to draw designs on my palm. "Tell me more about you from where you left of."

I cursed out loud and Jacob looked at me amused.

"Do I have to?" I pleaded with him.

"Yes."

I bit my lower lip slightly and leaned closer. "What will you do if I don't?"

"How about no kisses for a week?" He said lightly although he looked like he didn't like that punishment either.

"A week!?" I looked at him surprised.

"A week." He repeated.

I thought about it for a moment and decided to tell him. He would think I was crazy, but my lack of sanity was the least of my problems.

Nodding slowly, I picked up a heavy book from under my bed and brushed off the dust that had gathered on it.

"What's that?" Jacob asked curiously.

"A book." I ran my fingers over the cover and felt the indents of the words that spelled the title.

"I can see that." Jacob rolled his eyes. "But…"

Silencing him by putting one finger on his mouth, I pointed to the title of the book with my free hand.

The Scientific Studies of Bereavement, Fatality and Spiritual Relations 

_Dr. Jonathan F. Reynolds_

_Professor at Harvard University_

Jacob read the title silently and when he finished he looked up at me not understanding what it meant.

"This is the book I told you about." I whispered. "The one that changed my life."

"You stole a library book?" I smiled at his face.

"No," I looked back to the book. "I had to find this book at an old book sale at Harvard.It was hard to convince a friend of mine to drive me to Massachusetts from Mississippi."

"This book is really that important." He didn't say it like a question, and he looked down at the book with awe.

"Yes." I hugged it to my chest.

"So," Jacob looked at me. "What is…why do you…."

"Shhh." I pointed to the book. "Let me show you."

I opened the book to page 590 where the page was dog-eared down and had a mark across the heading from where candle wax dripped.

Exorcisms and the Beliefs of Spiritual Behavior 

_Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure) is the practice of evicting demonic powers or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place of which they have __possessed__ (taken control of). The practice is quite ancient and still part of the belief system of many __religions_

_The person performing the exorcism, known as an __exorcist__, is often a __priest__, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use __prayers__, and religious material, such as set formulas, __gestures__symbols__icons__amulets__, etc.. The exorcist invokes __God__ and/or several different __angels__ and __archangels__. The Priest also uses Crosses and Holy Water often when performing one. In general, possessed persons are not regarded as __evil__ in themselves, nor wholly responsible for their actions. Therefore, exorcism is generally thought more as a cure than as a punishment._

_It has been known for non-possesed humans to be exorcised, although the affects are unknown. Some historians have said that ancient African religons used this method of excorism to communicate to the dead because according to their histor, the person that has been excorsised becomes a spirit themselves temporarily and is able to wander on earth and on a spiritual plane._

_Many religons have their own forms or exorcisms and some religons consider them unholy and lable them as voodoo or black magic. In the 5__th__ century a popular woman who was known as the witch…_

I poked the text on te words 'non-possesed human' and smiled. "When I read this the first time, I didn't realize what that meant."

Jake looked at me cluelessly. "What does it mean?"

"It means that if there is a person with their own soul or spirit, whatever you want to call it, they can have their soul exorcised."

Jacob nodded although I could see he wasn't getting my point.

"Look, Jake." I said pointedly. "Anyone in the world can be excorcized if they have some sort of spirit in them, even if it is their own spirit. Once that person has been exorcised, they can travel around wherever they want. They can haunt Heaven, Earth, or Hell as they please and still be able to move around."

"That's pretty cool." Jake smiled impishly. "You could make millions by telling people this."

"No." I shook my head. "You aren't getting this." I sighed and looked down at the book. "Th book only tells half the story…it tells the good stuff, but not the after-effects."

"After-effects?"

"When a person leaves their body for long periods of time to see the dead," I looked down, "their bodys become less atached to them. When the person who was gone comes back, they can't be the same person again. They loose a part of themselves along with their life."

Jacob pushed back a strand of hair that had fallen into my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've lost pieces of my soul and I can't remember memories of certain things ever again." I tried not to cry although I could feel tears welling up. "I can't rememeber things and I never will. The memories are gone forever."

"I'm sorry." Jacob pulled me into a great bear hug that was comforting. "I'm so sorry."

"But that's not it," My voice was muffled because I was talking into his shirt. "For every minute I was away from my body, my life was worn away by a year or something close to that. I won't live to be thirty because I spent so much time looking for my mother."

I chuckled. "That is irony, isn't it? I went searching for my dead mother and now I will be dead myself all the sooner."

I cried into his shirt and he whispered things to me that my mind didn't process. I fell asleep there without realizing it.

**A/n: This isn't all Nina is hiding! Okay…I won't say anyhting. I am sorry but my spell checker broke so if my spelling is bad…forgive me. I love you reviewers, even though it is the same few people that review. Sigh. Aw well…I can't complian. It isn't like I am going to get a hundred reviews or anything for this story. I just like writing it.**

**I may threaten to dicontinue it, but I couldn't. I like Nina and Jake too much. **

**If anyone cares, I a gonna write a story about a Kristina and a Twilight character (Aro or Carlisle) soon! So…I will tell you! (Not that you care about it, but I can pretend that I have fans can't I?)**


	17. Quil's Interuption

NPOV:

I sighed into Jacob's shirt before pulling away.

"Sorry 'bout that." I said while looking at a wet area on his shirt that was caused by my tears.

"No problem." He stared at me. "Are you all right though?"

I hesitated before replying. It was hard to tell if I was all right. "I'm better." That was sort of the truth. I had shoddier days in my life.

"But are you all right?" Jacob tilted his head and he reminded me of a dog. "There is a difference between being better and okay."

"Well," I whispered. "I suppose I am all right. Your presence is defiantly helping me. When you are near me…" I didn't finish the sentence because of embarrassment.

"Oh?" he asked not missing the fact that I blushed while saying that. "What happens when I am near you?"

"I feel safe." I said almost inaudibly.

Jacob smiled and wrapped me up in his arms. "Don't worry, Nina. I will protect you."

Somehow we kissed again, although this time it went a bit farther than we normally did. After a minute we were having a full on make-out session with him being pressed against the bed by me.

Luckily, or unluckily depending on your perspective, someone rudely barged in which stopped it from going further.

"Uck, gross!" Quil looked like he might barf. "I don't want to see you two going at it in my own home."

"Then don't look." Jacob looked irritated and his voice showed more than a slight bit of annoyance.

"Are you two going out or something?" Not for the first time in my life, I wondered what Quil's IQ was.

"No," I swore, "Sherlock! You solved the mystery. Did you think we just randomly decided to…"

"Whoa, Ninny!" He held up his hands and I gave him the evil eye for using that name around Jacob. "You don't need to get all offended. I just was asking."

"Quil," Jacob interrupted what I am sure would have been a very witty retort from me. It was going to have to do something with Quil and his excessive amount of PDA lowering his brain cell quantities. "Get out."

"Whatever," Quil leaned against the side of the door making himself comfortable. "I have a few things to talk to you lovebirds about."

Why was everyone calling us lovebirds? Did I look like a canary or something?

"First, do you guys have any idea how gross it is to see my best friend and my cousin making out?" He looked from the two of us and shuddered. "Second, is that if you guys are going to be doing anything, please use protection because I don't want my cousin to be some teenage moth-"

"Quil," Jacob shivered a bit from anger and I looked at him confused. "Get out now or I will tell Sam that you are being a…"

"Calm down, Jacob!" Quil laughed. "You wouldn't want little Ninny here to know what we are."

"I already do." I tried, most likely unsuccessfully, to give my pest of a cousin the evil eye. "And don't call me Ninny."

Quil's mouth dropped. "You told her? Jake you idiot! What is Sam gonna say?"

"I didn't tell her," Jacob looked exasperated. "She just saw."

"You're in trouble, Jake!" Quil looked at me. "How much does she know?"

I said, "Not too much," at the exact same time Jacob said, "Everything."

"Jake!" Quil shouted. " You are such a…" Quil went on to list a long string of profanities, some that I had never heard of. I was surprised that he was brave enough to say some of those words with his mother in the house.

"Quil." I got off of the bed and went over to a shaking Quil. "You're freaking out over something that isn't important."

"Isn't important?" Quil ran his fingers through his hair in the same way Jacob did. When they were sitting, or in Quil's case standing, so close to each other, they looked like twins. I wondered why I didn't notice it before. They both had the exact same frustrated expression. "The fact that we are werewolves isn't important?"

"I don't care." I said honestly.

Quil shivered again.

"Quil," Jacob said in a forced call voice. "Get out of here now before you loose control and morph into a giant wolf. I doubt that we would be able to fit you in such a small room."

I smiled at the idea of a wolf the size of a bear being shoved into this small guest room. Jacob's head was only just fitting in. Another inch and his head would scrape the ceiling. His wolf form was even bigger.

Quil turned to leave but faltered as he turned. "You two lovebirds," He said with almost no emotion in his voice. It was a creepy forced calm. "I came up here to tell you that dinner is ready."

"Thanks." I said, although he didn't here me because he was already out the door.

I turned to Jacob and he laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked confused.

"Your face!" He gasped between chuckles.

"Hey!" I said upset.

Jacob shook his head. "Sorry, bad wording. I meant your facial expression."

I felt only slightly comforted by this. He was still laughing at me. "What's so funny about it?"

"It just is, Ninny!" Jacob tried to stop himself from laughing. "Some of the funniest things on the world don't have a reason to be funny. They just are."

"Well, I'm glad you find me amusing." I said dryly. "Oh, and don't ever call me Ninny again."

This broke him out into new peals of laughter at my expense. After a while I started to laugh along with him, although I didn't understand why.

**A/n: This was fluffy! Like hagrid's dog. Anyways. So, I updated today even though I swore to ****xMyxTopazxRosex ****that I wouldn't update for 2 whole days. I didn't last one. Sorry about the trying to be mean-thing. I am bad at that stuff!**

**Heres a thanks to: ****xMyxTopazxRosex**** , EntrustingLove (I am so happy you are back, even though we may disagree about my intelligence level), WordNazi, AliceCullens and tons other people who review. I love you!**


	18. Not Part of the Story

**I have a bet to not update for a week. Who thinks I can last that long? I am thinking that I will cave in………**

**Also...FYI this story is gonna be long. It is already 7 chapters longer than I thought it would be and with the way things are going I estimate about 30 chapters and 40,000 words. It isn't the longest story I ever wrote, but it is the longest fan fic!**


	19. Lemon Scones

**Heres for you guys who wanted a Bella scene again. There is a splash of Edward for my loving Edward fans and more than a bit of Nina.**

JPOV:

When I woke up Sunday, I spent a whole minute in my bed wondering whether or not last night had really happened or if it was part of my dream. It seemed to weird to be Nina's boyfriend, but very excellent at the same time.

I got out of bed and realized that it really was true. Nina and I were, as Quil would say, an item.

I thought about calling Nina, but I wasn't sure if she was a late or early riser and I didn't want to wake her up. There was so much I wanted to know about her. I decided to call Bella instead because I knew that even on weekends she always got up by eight.

Her phone rang twice before someone picked up.

"Hello, Swan residence."

"Hello, Cullen." I said icily. I never would like him, even if I didn't love Bella.

"Wolf." He said shortly. "What do you want?"

I heard a muffled noise and a shuffle for the phone.

"Hi, Jake!" Bella's voice was cheerful. "What's up?"

"Well," I smiled even though I knew she couldn't see me. "A lot has gone on in La Push."

"Do you have any information regarding Victoria?" The bloodsucker took the phone from Bella. I was pleased to note the hate in his voice when he said that redheaded leech's name.

"No." I growled. "Now can I please speak to Bella?"

"Yes." He growled right back.

I waited for him to give her the phone but he didn't.

"Please, can I speak to her?" I asked again.

I heard the sounds of Bella complaining.

"You can." I could hear a grin on his face. "If you ask the right way."

"May I please speak to Bella?" I was starting to get annoyed.

"Fine." Cullen growled lowly so that only I could hear him. I was sure Bella couldn't.

"Jake, sorry." Bella apologized. "Why did you call anyways?"

"Can I speak to you alone sometime, Bells? Without that bloods- I mean Cullen hanging around?"

I heard whispering in the background. After a moment of Cullen furiously saying no to Bella, he caved in. I think that she kissed him. I never knew Bella could be so manipulative. The thought of her getting close to his teeth repulsed me. She could be hurt so easily.

"Jake." She sounded breathy. "I will be over there in half an hour, all right?"

"Great." I grinned. "See you then."

"Bye." I heard Cullen say something to Bella.

"Bells?" I asked.

"Yeah?" She sounded muffled and I heard her cover the mouthpiece and tell Edward to 'stop doing that' because she couldn't concentrate.

"Be safe and don't trip on your way here." I warned her.

I heard Cullen laugh and I could imagine Bella turning red.

"Bye, Jake."

The phone went dead. I laughed at the conversation. Just as I was going to pour myself a bowl of cereal, the doorbell rung.

"I'll get it!" I yelled. I heard Billy say something, but I couldn't make it out because it sounded like he was talking into his pillow. He most likely was because Billy was not an early bird.

I opened the door and saw Nina standing in the doorway with a basket.

"Hey!" She smiled and I felt slightly dizzy. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." I stepped aside. "Although, I was told never to talk to strangers. Care to introduce yourself?"

"Don't be silly, Jacob." She hit my arm lightly. I rubbed it with mock pain.

"What's in the basket?" I asked trying to peak into it, but there was a cloth covering it.

"Oh, this?" She looked down at it. "My Aunt baked you some breakfast scones."

"Mmmmmm." I took the scones from her. "Let's have them in the kitchen."

I grabbed her wrist and guided her to the kitchen. It wasn't as fancy as Quil's kitchen, but it had enough things to cook with.

I pulled out a chair for her and she sat down.

"No one does that anymore, Jacob." She blushed.

"Well," I grabbed a scone. "I do."

Nina took a scone and nibbled at it.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked her.

"Naw." She shook her head. "I ate a few at home. I like the lemon ones best, how 'bout you?"

I thought about it for a minute. "I think I like the cinnamon ones today."

"Do you normally like something else?"

I nodded and finished chewing a bite. "Yeah, the almond ones are really yummy. But today I think cinnamon is good. Actually, I think my new favorite is cinnamon."

"Why?" Nina took a piece off of a cinnamon one and tasted it.

"Cinnamon reminds me of you." I said honestly.

Nina blushed and was about to say something else when Dad came in.

"Mornin' Jake." He looked older when he was tired. "Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry." I made introductions. "Nina, this is my dad. Dad, this is Nina. She's Quil's cousin and my girlfriend."

Nina smiled. It was the first time I had introduced her as my girlfriend. It may seem like a simple thing, but it made me happy.

"Sure." Dad picked up a scone and ate it. "What are these things?"

"Scones." Nina said.

"They're good." He took another. "Did you make them?"

Nina laughed. "No, no, sir." She shook her head. "I could never cook scones. I don't even know what you would have to do to make them."

"Don't call me sir." My dad said gruffly. He was never too happy in the morning. "It makes me feel old."

"You are old, Dad." I said.

"One day…" He trailed off and wheeled out of the room taking a scone with him.

I looked at Nina. "He likes you." I smiled at her.

"I'm not so sure about that." She looked back towards the door he left at. "He didn't seem to like me all that well."

"He's just not a morning person." I laughed. "Don't worry. You should see him on a normal morning."

"Is today not a normal morning?" She asked.

"How could it be normal when you are here?" I kissed her lightly. "You make everything special."

Nina dropped her scone. "If anyone other than you said that, it would sound corny."

"Yeah, well." I pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "I am not a big fan of corn. It reminds me of the play I had to do in first grade about thanksgiving. I had to be the Indian corn boy." Under my breath I muttered, "Stupid racist teachers."

"I know what you mean." Nina laughed. "I was the one of only non-white person in my school. People were always expecting me to live in a wigwam or something. They were surprised to see I lived in a normal two-story house."

We laughed together for a while and told stories about school and other things.

Before I knew it, the doorbell rang again. I stood up from the table and looked at the clock.

I swore. We had been talking for longer than I thought.

"Who is it?" Nina asked confused.

"Bella." I looked at her. "I called her over before you came. Are you willing to meet her?"

"Sure." Nina added thinking I wouldn't hear. "It's nice to know the competition."

I laughed. "There's no competition. You would win any day." She blushed.

"So, this was you're sort of ex-girlfriend?" Nina followed me to the front door.

"Not really." I kissed Nina's forehead. "We only ever were friends. I just thought I might have liked her as more than a sister, but I really just love her like a little sister."

"How old is she?" Asked Nina.

I smiled. "She's older than me, but we confirmed that I am older if we add and deduct maturity points."

I opened the door and Bells hugged me before I knew what happened. I hugged her back and I saw Nina glaring at Bella.

"Hey Bells." I was taken aback by her hug. "Good to see you too."

She blushed scarlet and I laughed.

"Sorry," Bella covered her cheeks with her hands. "I just missed you."

"S'okay." I said. "Have you met Nina? Wait…that was a stupid question."

Bella turned to face Nina and she gasped. "Oh, Jake wasn't exaggerating."

"What do you mean?" Nina looked at me confused.

"You're beautiful!" Bella said before I could explain anything. "Jake told me about you but I thought he was just in love."

"Oh, um." Nina looked at her shoes. "I'm not that good-looking. I'm just…"

"Don't be humble, Ninny." I laughed.

"Don't call me Ninny." She said angrily. I heard her say something about killing Quil but it was incomprehensible.

"Well," I looked around. "I think we should go somewhere other than the foyer. It is slightly small and makes me feel claustrophobic."

"Everywhere makes you feel claustrophobic." Bella scoffed. "You're a giant."

"Not yet." I teased.

I could see Bella took an instant liking to Nina, but Nina was still slightly wary of Bells. I wondered why.

A/n:** Okay...not my bestest chapter but it is leading up to a plot. I do have one. Not the next chapter but the chapter after...that will be the turning point.** **woot! **

**Reviewing will make me write faster...so R&R...**

**I lost my bet. Aw well.**


	20. Cliff Diving Stories

NPOV

For a while we all stood in the foyer awkwardly. Jake looked between Bella and me for a while as if he was comparing us. I wasn't bothered by it as much as I thought I might have been, but I still felt slightly unsure of myself. I had no idea that Bella would be so pretty and sweet. She was like the dictionary definition of the girl-next-door.

After a moment Jake went to go get some scones for Bella and he left the two of us alone in the room. I was pretty sure he did this purposefully to make us talk, and I didn't want to seem unfriendly.

"Hi." I said shyly. I had never felt this shy before but I wanted to make a good impression. This was the first friend of Jacob's that I had met, other than Quil but he didn't count.

"Hey." Bella smiled. "So you're Nina."

"Yes." I asked. "How much has Jacob said about me?"

"Not very much to be honest." Bella looked at her hands. "Only that he loves you and that you are lovely."

"I'm not really." I smiled though anyways at the complements. "I am just ordinary."

"No," Bella shook her head. "You can't see yourself. Jake can though."

I tugged at my hair without realizing it. It was a habit that I hadn't ever gotten rid of no matter how many times I tried to stop.

Before I could say something, Jacob was back.

"Hey, you two!" In his hands were some scones on a plate. "Let's go somewhere a little less cramped."

"Okay." Bella smiled at him affectionately, but not in a romantic way. "Where to?"

"Let's go outside." I offered. Recently I had begun to enjoy the outdoors.

"Sounds good." Jacob nodded. "Have you seen the beach yet, Nina?"

"Not for a long time." I said honestly. It had to have been years.

Bella grinned. "Let's go there then. It will be fun."

I smiled back and before I knew it we were in Jacob's car. I was riding shotgun and Bella had taken back.

"Nice car." I said to Jacob as we rode along. I was please to note that he was a very good driver and kept his hands on ten and two. It was always a plus when your boyfriend could transport you from point A to B without scaring the living daylights out of you.

"I made it myself." A note of pride crept into his voice.

"You can make cars?" I asked astonished.

"If I have the right stuff and enough time I can do a lot." He shrugged. "It's sort of a hobby, I suppose. I'm not very good at it but it is fun."

"He's being humble. Jake can fix anything." Bella leaned forward and hit him playfully on the shoulder. "He fixed up some motorcycles for me last year. I thought they were irreparable but Jake can do anything."

"They weren't that bad." Jacob said defensively trying to be humble. "They just need a little bit of work."

"Whatever." Bella rolled her eyes and I laughed at the two of them. It was hard to believe that I had just met the two of them.

For the rest of the car ride we talked easily about things. Bella was constantly praising Jacob and he was always refusing her complements. If anyone saw the three of us together they would think that we were friends for years. I was surprised when we arrived at the beach.

"Here we are." Jacob leaned back and looked at it before getting out.

I looked around and felt the breeze on my face. It was very nice, but didn't give me the same feeling that I got in the forest. I couldn't sense any life, it was only rock and water.


	21. Victoria

JPOV:

Everything was going perfectly until that bloodsucker showed up. Shall I rephrase that nicely? Edward Cullen came for a nice little visit to the beach.

He was aware of the treaty, and so I figured he didn't come here just to have a social visit or to take Bella home.

"What is it?" I asked gruffly. I pulled Nina behind me unsure of how good his control was. I kept an eye on Bella but figured he wouldn't attack her.

"Victoria." He frowned and Bella gasped.

"What happened?" I asked at the same time as Nina started to inquire about Victoria.

"She was planning to attack Bella on her way home from here to Forks. She would have succeeded if I hadn't come." Edward spoke quickly and it was hard for me to catch every word. The fact that he was standing a football field's distance away didn't help much, although it did keep away his smell.

"How do you know…" I trialed off as I remembered that the vampires had 'talents' as Bella called them. I remembered Bella talking about how one of them could see the future. Edward must have read her mind as she was having these visions.

He nodded. I still thought it was weird when he answered my thoughts.

"What is going on?" Nina asked confused. "Why are you two talking on opposite edges of the beach?"

"Vampire." I whispered to her. "We don't get along, well."

Nina looked at Cullen again and then a look of understanding spread across her face. "Okay, but who is Victoria?"

"Another vampire," Bella answered for me. "She wants me dead because Edward killed James, he was her lover, and now she is trying to kill me because she thinks that will be fair."

"How is that fair?" Nina raised one perfect brow and I found myself gazing at her instead of watching Bella.

"It would hurt me more to see Bella gone, than to die myself." Edward spoke softly. It was times like these when I wondered if he was really feeling emotion or merely being melodramatic. "Death would be welcome…"

"No!" Bella ran across the sand towards him with her arms outstretched. She made it several yards before she tripped. Edward ran and caught her quickly.

His sickly sweet smell became more apparent and I turned my face away from him. Just his scent burned my nose.

Nina looked uncomfortable, but maybe that was because the lee-Edward had ran so fast.

Edward and Bella began to murmur sweet things to each other, and even though I had no romantic feelings towards her anymore, they made me want to gag. Literally. Nina agreed with me.

"Uck." She wrinkled her nose. "PDA."

I chuckled. "I agree 100."

We looked away from them and gazed at the beach. I only kept my eyes on the water for an instant before I found them creeping back to look at Nina. I was happy to find that she was looking at me from the corner of her eye in the same way.

I smiled and Nina began to giggle. The sound of her laugh was sweet and made me reminded of sugar and holidays for some reason.

Everything was unbelievable until the scent of another vampire came. I tensed immediately. It was an instinctive reaction. I heard Cullen growl lowly so that only I and the other vampire could hear it.

A flash of red hair burst through the trees. Cullen attacked her immediately while I decided to care for the two humans on the beach. If either of them were hurt I would be devastated.

Bella shrieked for Edward, but I didn't heed her and continued to take them to the cliff. She kicked against me, but I didn't let her go. Nina ran beside me agilely even though she wasn't sure what was going on.

When we got to the cliff Bella was crying for me to let her go so she could help Edward. I ignored her because I knew that letting her 'help' would end up with her being dead.

"Nina." I turned to her authoritatively. "Keep an eye on Bell so she won't come after Edward."

I kicked of my shoes.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "There is no way I am going to let you risk your life…"

"Nina, just do this one thing." I begged while taking off my shirt. "I won't be hurt. Werewolves were made for killing vampires."

"Edward!" Bella screamed hoarsely. "Jake, we need to save Edward."

"I'm going." I told Bell before turning to Nina again. "Please, Nina?"

"No." Nina crossed her arms. "I'm going with you."

I snarled frustrated with her. "There is no way that I will let you within ten feet of any vampire."

"Don't act like I am so breakable!" Nina shouted. "I won't watch you go running in to danger and leave me behind to worry about you."

"I don't have time for this." My hand made it's way to my hair and I tried to calm myself. "We can argue about this later."

"Later?" Nina grabbed my arm tightly. "Then it will be too late. What if you die or are hurt or…"

A tear made it's way down Nina's face.

"Why are you crying?" I wiped away the tear from her face.

"I don't want to loose you, I can't." She shook her head and refused to meet my gaze. "You are too important."

"Well, I can't loose you." She looked up at me with sparkling eyes. "that's why you have to stay here with Bella while I go…"

"No." She looked up determinedly. "I'm going with you."

"You can't!" I growled again. "I've already told you…"

"I know what you think." She interrupted, "But I've made up my mind. I'm going with you."

"What about Bella?" I shouted. "We can't just leave her here."

"She can come too." Nina nodded her head. "She wants too."

"I do!" Bella interjected. "Please let me."

"Are you two both suicidal?" I held back a tremor. "You two are both staying here and that's final."

Nina grabbed my arm so hard that her nails sunk down into my skin painfully. I tried not to moan. "You are not going without me." She hissed.

"Fine, fine." I said quickly and her fingers released slightly. I grabbed her small wrist and took it in my hand. "But then you have to stay away from any vampires or werewolves."

"Then what's the point of going?" Her outrage made her shake. If she were part of the pack she would be in danger of turning into a wolf. Luckily, she wasn't cursed with my fate and her shaking just was shaking.

"You're wasting time, Nina." I pulled up Bella who had sunk to the ground. "Edward is probably hurt by now."

Bella wailed and put a hand over Nina's mouth so she couldn't talk. I smiled slightly at the two of them.

I picked up Bella in my arms and ran. Nina ran beside me and in no time we where down at the beach again. I set Bella down and was going to run off when Nina grabbed me by the waist and tackled me down. She definitely had the advantage of surprise working with her.

"What are you doing?" I tried to fight her off, but wasn't sure how to without hurting her.

"I'm not letting you go without me." She pinned my arms to the sand.

I tried to get up but Nina's hold was very strong. I wasn't used to girl's being almost as strong as me.

"You can't." I glared at her. "You have to stay with Bella."

"I know, I know!" Nina looked over to Bella. "But can't she stay alone for one minute?"

"No." I thought about her luck. "She would fall over herself and die by hitting a sharp rock or she would find some other vampire that wants to kill her. Trust me, it could happen."

Nina shot a spiteful look at me. "Then take her with us."

"That would be insane!" Nina must be loosing it. "Take Bella straight to a parasite who wants to kill her? Are you mad?"

"Are you?" She pushed me deeper into the sand. "I won't let you up until you let me come with you."

"No." I said firmly.

"You are such an idiot, Jacob!" Nina's nails dug into me again. "Why?!"

"I love you too much." I tried to push her away. "Now get off me."

"No." Her eyes narrowed into angry slits. "I love you too much to let you throw your life in jeopardy over some vampires."

"It's not about the vampires." I sighed. "I can't let Bella be killed. Taking her to them would defeat the point of going there."

Bella added in her opinion. "No, we could save Edward!"

"We could go save Edward." Nina repeated. "Great, so now we have another reason. Let's go."

"I can't let you." Why wasn't she understanding? "I can't…"

"Jacob!" Nina shrieked. "I refuse to wait for you to come back knowing that you are facing danger. I can fight too. I'm not as weak as you may think." Her voice broke. "Besides, I am just going to die anyways."

"Don't talk like that." I futilely attempted to move her. "I want you to get off of me and stay here while watching Bella."

"I'm not going to stay no matter what you say, Jacob." She spat out my name furiously and shook a bit. "Why can't you see that?"

"Are you always so stubborn?" I shoved her a bit but she just held me harder.

"When it comes to things I love." Emotions went across her face quickly. "I can't let you."

With my super strength I kicked her off of me before she could realize what happened. I didn't want to stay around, so I ran as fast as I could towards where Edward and Victoria were still fighting furiously.

I only stopped because of the growl behind me that sounded very wolfish. I turned to see a giant gray wolf where Nina had been standing.

**Are you guys happy? It has a plot. Tell me if I should re-write it and make a new plot.**


	22. Murder

**Dedicated to EntrustingLove. I only wrote it because of her. Blame her. Have a muffin.**

JPOV:

I started at the new wolf for a few moments before I realized that the wolf was actually Nina and that she hadn't just been eaten by some giant wolf.

The wolf stopped growling when she realized that she had turned into a giant wolf. I heard her let out a little yelp and chase her tail to be sure she actually was a wolf. Nina's thoughts danced into my head.

_I can't believe…there is no way…but I am a wolf! I am just like Jacob! This is so great! Now I will be able to help fight that one vampire. He doesn't have a reason to leave me behind now._

I morphed into my wolf form and tackled her. _Fine you can come. _I directed my thoughts at her in the same way Sam had taught me. There were different things you could do to focus your thoughts. Otherwise it was just a giant jumble of thoughts like the ones Nina was having now.

_Whoa! You can talk to me in my head? That is so cool. _She grinned as a wolf and showed off some very large and sharp teeth._ Can you hear me now?_

_Nina, protect Bella. _I got off of her and loped towards the forest. _You can take her with you only if you keep in your wolf form. Do _not_ go back to being human while there is a vampire around. They say that we stink even as humans, but I don't want to risk it._

_I can come? _Nina wagged her tail and picked up Bella with her teeth and flung her over her back. She accidentally scraped Bella and she winced a bit but hung loosely all the same. Bella looked exhausted.

_I can't waste any more time arguing with you. Don't think I like putting you in danger._ I quickened my pace and Nina ran to keep up. Bella was slowing her down but she was still faster than I was.

I turned my head to look at Nina. She looked exhilarated. I recalled my first time running as a wolf. It was so electrifying to feel the power from running as a wolf because your senses became magnified, especially the senses of hearing and smelling.

She was so lucky to already know that werewolves existed before she turned into one. The first time I changed, I was terrified of myself. She seemed to enjoy being a monster like this.

_You aren't a monster, Jacob. _Nina looked at me concerned. Her eyes were still the same color of deep dark brown. They looked intense against her light gray coat of fur. _I can't imagine anyone as good as you being a monster. Everything you do is for someone else. _

_That's when I am human. _I growled. _When I am like this I am not good at all. I am dangerous. It would be so easy for me to slip up and accidentally hurt someone if they upset me._

_See, _Nina looked triumphant even as a wolf. Her expressions were easy to decipher. _Right now you are being nice again. You are concerned about others._

_Yeah, but…_

_No, Jacob. _She growled. _Don't deny it. You are good to the core. _

_Not now when I am like this. _I had told her my deepest fear. I hadn't even told Bella how scared I was of myself when I was a wolf. Nina had seen though when she saw my thoughts.

_Right now, you are trying to protect your friend. What is bad about that?_

I thought about her words as we ran. Before I could puzzle them out, we had arrived at the two fighting vampires. The Cullen had a gash along the side of his face that was dripping a silver fluid with a slight red tint. Even though he was caked in the least blood, he seemed to be loosing strength.

The other vampire was biting and kicking in a violent manner without thought. I had never seen anyone so aggressive and I felt a surge of protectiveness when I thought that she wanted to torture Bella.

I joined the fight with Nina not far behind. Edward looked at me gratefully until he saw Bella. He emulated a low growl.

"You stupid dog," He hissed angrily. "Are you insane?"

_I couldn't leave her alone, could I? _I thought knowing he would hear.

He pushed me against the ground. "It would be better than bringing her straight to her would-be-murderer."

_Get off, _I shoved him off less politely than I had pushed away Nina. _Let's kill Victoria before you get on my case about this._

"Fine." He glared at me prior to hitting Victoria with a newfound vehemence.

I sunk my claws into her skin and I felt her writhe.

Together the three of us, Nina helping here and there although unsure of what she could do, tore Victoria to bits. She managed to succeed in striking my chest once and she almost had bit Nina, but the odds had been against her. I didn't feel bad about ganging up on her.

We stepped back just as the small vampire danced into the clearing like a gazelle.

"Edward, here!" She threw something shiny at Cullen.

"Thanks, Alice." He lit it up and I saw it was a small lighter. He lowered it to the remains of the vampire and we watched it burn like a campfire. The small vampire looked happy but Edward gazed at the fire with a mix of distaste and melancholy.

I turned to find Nina and I saw her nudging Bella to sit back down. Bella was trying to run to Edward.

Nina caught my gaze and she tilted her head in a un-wolf-like manner. If I were human I would have laughed.

Before I could go over to her, Edward pounced on me and pinned me against a tree. "What were you thinking, you senseless werewolf? You could have killed Bella."

Nina snarled ferociously and tried to bite him. She had good intentions but was unsure of where the best place to bite a vampire was, so she was doing very little to help my situation.

"Go away, mutt." He pushed her off. "This doesn't bother you."

Nina thought some pretty nasty things about Edward that I wouldn't dare think, at least not around any mind-reading vampires.

_I was just trying to protect her. _I barred my fangs. _She would be in more danger out there._

"So, you bring her here?" He pushed me hard against the tree and I could feel the trunk beginning to strain from the inhuman pressure.

"Edward!" Bella shouted and I could see from my peripheral vision that she was fighting to get out of the other vampire's grasp. "Stop, Jake was trying to protect me! Please, Edward! For me, stop!?"

He held me for a moment as if just to prove he could before dropping me to the ground. Nina snapped at him on her way to help me.

I stayed there and watched them leave. Edward took Bella onto his back and said something to her to quietly for me to hear. She whispered back to him and they took off running. The black haired vampire kicked out the fire that we had made before chasing after them with an abnormal amount of grace.

As they left I was struck with the strange image of them being like large wild cats. They had fluid feline motions and they were as unpredictable as a cheetah or leopard. You never knew when they were going to attack or act sweet.

Nina nipped my ear affectionately and pulled me up. When she saw the cut on my chest, she freaked out.

_Jacob, we have to get you to the hospital! You are going to bleed to death._

The thought of me bleeding to death was ridiculous. _Nina, I'm fine. In an hour it will be impossible to see that I had ever even fought a crazed vampire._

_I'm serious. _She licked the blood off in a very cute and seductive way. _You look like you've just been stabbed by some aggressive killer._

_It's fine. _I wondered if she knew what she was doing to me by licking me like that. _You worry too much. If anything, you should be worried about yourself._

_Why?_

I pushed myself up until I was sitting like a dog. _Um…let's think. How about the fact that you are a werewolf!?_

_That's not surprising if you think about it. _She brushed herself against me. _My cousin is a werewolf so I suppose genetics were against me._

I sighed and bit her playfully. _What am I going to do with you? You are so accepting and perfect. _

She licked my mouth and we nuzzled for a bit exchanging thoughts. Someone interrupted our thoughts though.

_Jake, is that you? _I heard Embry's voice in my head. Nina turned around trying to see a wolf that wasn't there.

_Yes. _I told him before thinking to Nina again. _We can communicate like this from long distances. _I informed her. _It's harder to hear and you can only distinguish things that are thought clearly and meant to be heard._

_Who's with you?_ Embry asked.

_Quil's cousin. _I licked her again. _And she's my girlfriend._

_I thought that…never mind. _I knew that he was about to say Bella. _Anyways, does she know about us?_

_Yeah. _Nina thought. _I am a werewolf._

_Whoa, Jake! _His voice showed he was impressed. _You are so lucky. I wish I had a girlfriend that was a wolf too._

_You wish you had a girlfriend, period. _I looked at Nina full of pride.

_Hey, what's your name, Jake's-girl? _Embry thought to both me and Nina.

She lowered her head a bit. _Nina…but who are you?_

_I'm Embry. You'll get to know me and the guys a bit better later. I have really important news._

Nina's ears perked up slightly as if she was listening hard.

_Not too long ago we caught the smell of vampire. We thought it was the red-headed bitch at first, but then we realized that it wasn't her. There is some other vampire around and only about twenty minutes ago we had an encounter with it._

I felt Nina shiver beside me and her thoughts were confused and scared. _Do you think it was Bella's boyfriend?_

_Edward? _I snarled his name. _It couldn't be him, because he was already here then. Twenty minutes ago we were arguing about whether or not it was safe for you to come._

_Who was it then? _Nina asked both of us.

_It wasn't a Cullen, we know that for sure. _Embry sounded upset and I got an image of what the vampire looked like in my head. He was tall and wore all black. He had all the distinctive features of a vampire, the pale skin, red eyes and scary looks, but was different because he was less attractive than other vampires.

_What happened? _I asked.

_He attacked me and Sam while we were patrolling for Victoria. He bit Sam pretty badly but he will live. With the scars, he sort of looks like his wife now._

_Don't joke, Embry. _I thought about his face in my dream of him being old. If he died from a vampire bite he would never live to be old.

_Sorry, Jake. _He apologized. _Anyways, it was really fast. He sort of snuck up on us, you know? It was over in just a few minutes. I tried to call you guys for help but none of you were wolves so you couldn't hear._

_If we hadn't been fighting we would have heard. _I thought to myself, although they both heard.

_I'm so sorry Jacob. _Nina prodded me with her snout. _But if I hadn't made such a big deal you would have left me and I would be stuck worrying over you._

_Excuse me._ He interrupted, _But if you are done apologizing, Sam really does need help._

_Where is he?_ I asked.

Embry gave us the location and Nina and I set off heading towards the place he had given us. We weren't done yet with vampires for the day.

**A/n: I have a plot! This is one of my first plots ever. Give me a muffin. Any flavor. I dislike blood and fire muffins though. **

**Thanks reviewers.**


	23. Embry

NPOV:

Running as a human couldn't hold a candle to running as a wolf. The wind was in my ears and I felt like I was going a hundred miles an hour. I still wasn't running at my full speed though because I could feel more energy in me urging me to go further and run faster. I only held back so that I could stay at the same pace as Jacob.

I looked over to him and I saw his expression. His face was serious and strained, his ears laid flat against his head and he looked determined to help save Sam.

I felt his guilt for not being in wolf form when Sam. _Jacob, it isn't your fault._

_Yes, it is._ He didn't look at me. _I could have…_

_Why do you always take the responsibilities? _I interrupted him. _You're just a kid. We both are. We're only sixteen._

_When you are a werewolf, there isn't any time to be normal. _He ran faster. _Nina, we are different. You can't go back to being normal. It's too hard. One day, you'll understand._

I sighed and ignored him. I heard his thoughts and could tell he was concerned about me right now.

_How much further is it? _I tried to distract him.

_Not too long, maybe a minute or two. _We both jumped over a fallen log and then Jacob stopped. I followed suit.

_What is it? _I asked.

_I'm not sure if it would be faster to turn back and run the rest of the way or to run around the street as wolves. What do you think, Embry?_

_Try to go the most direct route. _Embry's thoughts flooded my head again in more focus. _Sam is pretty bad. I'm not sure that he can lose this much blood. And to make things worse, he isn't healing too well._

Jacob told Embry he was going to be out of touch for a while and we both transformed back into our normal bodies. I didn't waste time worrying about the fact that I was naked because Jacob was already running.

I caught up to him and we streaked across a street and two yards until we reached a forest again. It didn't take long, but I still felt slightly uncomfortable. I suppose it would be better to see two teenagers streaking rather than two giant wolves leaping over someone's yard.

I changed back quickly and continued running. I thought we would have to do a lot more running but I had only gone a few paces before I heard movement.

_Is that them? _I tilted my head towards the sound of snapping sticks on the ground.

_Yeah. _Jacob's head gave a little nod. _That's Embry. He's one of my best friends other than Quil. They are different in so many ways._

_How? _I strained my eyes to see him but I couldn't see an opening in the dense forest.

_He's quieter and more reserved than the rest of us. _Jacob shared some thoughts of them together. _Quil couldn't ever be called quiet._

_That's for sure. _I agreed. My cousin was very outgoing and thought that this quality appealed to 'the ladies' as he would say.

When I first saw Embry, I noticed that he had many colors on his fur. He looked more wolfish than Jacob, because he had white and black markings rather than being a solid color.

I smelled the blood before I saw him. When I looked by Embry, I noticed there was a man sprawled across the ground that was covered in blood. He was wearing no clothes and he looked far older than Jacob or Quil.

_What should I do? _Embry paced. _I haven't taken health yet. Should I go for help or stay here?_

_Someone should go get Emily. _I noted an authoritative tone in Jacob's voice. He would be a great leader because he was so likable, yet commanding.

_I can run the fastest. _I wasn't bragging but just stating a fact. _If Embry shows me where to go, we can get there pretty fast, I think._

_Embry? _Jacob turned his head to the other wolf. _What do you think?_

_Let's go._ Embry tilted his head to the left and we headed off in that direction. He started off slow and grew faster as if to test me.

His thoughts were too jumbled for me to make out and he would be worried about Sam one minute and then think about me the next. It was hard to follow.

_So, you're Nina. _I could tell from his thoughts that he hated small talk.

_Yeah. _I thought back. _Who's Emily?_

_His fiancée, _Embry ran slightly faster still. _They are already married legally, but we will have a wedding party and fake ceremony later with their parents. They couldn't wait._

_I see. _I kept up with him and went just a bit faster to show that I could.

_She's a great cook. _He didn't go faster and I assumed that he was already going his fastest. _Everyone loves her. She has a few scars from a time when Sam lost it and got angry at her._

_What happened? _I asked.

_You know how it is. You're a wolf too. _He said it like it was an inside secret.

_I only just turned into one today. _I was still so clueless about so many werewolf things because Jacob wouldn't tell me everything.

_Really? _Embry looked at me and I noticed how much taller he was than me. _I'm sorry. Well, anyways…when we loose our tempers we just turn into wolves. Sam once lost his temper at Emily when she was trying to get him to marry her. He didn't want her to marry him, not because he didn't love her, but because he thought she deserved better. He just changed and accidentally started clawing her out of instinct._

_The first time I lost it, I totally mauled a tree. _Embry thought. _One day when this is all over, I could show it to you. If you want, that is…_

I thought about how sweet he was. I wish all guys were like this. I hated when guys would only talk to you if they thought that they could go out with you. Then when you wanted to just be friends they ignored you.

_I'm not that nice. _He thought embarrassedly.

_I had forgotten that you could read my thoughts. _If I were human I would have smiled.

_Don't worry. _He said understandingly. _It happens all the time to me. You never have any privacy when you are a werewolf…Oh! We're here._

We stopped running and slid into a graceful lope as we continued towards a cottage with abundant gardens and yellow siding.

"Here we are." Embry said out loud. I turned and saw that he had shifted into a human. I looked him over and saw how similar he looked to Jacob. He had longer hair, but he wore the expression Jacob always had when he was thinking. He was taller than Quil but shorter than Jacob.

I changed back and he gaped at me. "What?" I asked self-conscious.

"Nothing." He turned away and blushed. "Let's go inside."

**Here is some fluff for Entrusting Love. It isn't Jacob and Nina fluff but Embry and Nina fluff is good too. If anyone has any great ideas for the story I would like to have them. I only have a foggy out line from here. Should Embry have a crush on Nina?**


	24. Emily

NPOV:

We made our way inside and I was surprised to see a beautiful woman with satiny copper skin and long black hair, dance in. She was prefect, but three thick red scars marred the right side of her face. If I hadn't heard of her scars, I would have thought she was Sam's sister or something because she looked so young.

"Hi, Embry. I have clothes in Sam's room for you. Just don't rip…" She trailed of as she caught sight of me behind him. "Is this a girlfriend of yours? Why…never mind."

Embry blushed again. "She's Jacob's new girlfriend."

Emily squealed. "I'm so happy he finally got over Bella. She was lovely, don't get me wrong, but she wasn't right for Jake. I'm so happy." Her words were very fast and her eyes lit up. Now it would be too heartbreaking to tell her that her husband was in trouble.

"Could we have some clothes?" I asked uncomfortably. I wasn't used to meeting strangers naked.

Embry turned his head from me, but I could see him blushing further as I brought attention to our lack of clothes. He was so shy.

Emily hurried out of the room and left us in an uncomfortable silence. Embry and I had no trouble talking before when we were wolves, but now he seemed to be withdrawn. I wanted to say something but I didn't know what to say.

We stood there silently until Emily returned with two sets of clothes. She handed me a light dress from a few fashions ago along with some undergarments.

"I'm sorry they are so outdated," She whispered into my ear, "But that was the only thing I had that would fit you. I never was as skinny as you are."

I looked her over and couldn't imagine her being fat although she was implying it. Unless a size eight was fat, but that is still about average. I told her this as I put the dress on and she laughed.

"Well, you are so thin!" She looked me over. "Are you a size zero?"

"No." I laughed although I was only two sizes above that. I also didn't tell her that I had to have my clothes tailored most of the time, especially for pants, because my legs were too long for the size two clothes in stores.

When I had everything on, Emily went to get Embry who had gone to another room to change when I hadn't been looking.

He came back wearing a baggy T-shirt that said "I'm a dog" and a pair of baggy shorts.

"You look cute in that shirt." I laughed as he flushed and mumbled something about bad taste in humor.

"So, I take it that you aren't here just to say hello, are you?" Emily saved Embry from having to respond. I couldn't figure out why he was still acting embarrassed when we were both clothed. Maybe it was because he had just seen me nude.

"Sam's in trouble." Embry told Emily about his encounter with the vampire, although he left out the details about Sam's condition.

"Will he be okay?" Emily wrung her hands worriedly.

"Yeah," Embry nodded. "Although he probably won't be the same as he used to be."

"What do you mean by that?" She looked stressed.

"Sam might have a few scars in the future." Embry shrugged as if it was no big deal. He was definitely stretching the truth to make Emily comforted. "Right now he is sort of hurt and I think he would like for the pack to be there and give him…mental support."

"I'll call them right now and then we can go to him." She stood up and walked towards a cream colored telephone.

She made a few calls, and then came back to us.

"So, where is Sam?" She asked us.

I looked at Embry and he faltered for a moment.

"Um," He hesitated and looked to me for an idea. "He's in the woods, but you couldn't get there."

"So, I'll stay with you." I pitched in. "That way we can both worry about our werewolf guys together." I thought about the way Bella's boyfriend slammed him against a tree. I wasn't sure that he was safe with that vampire on the loose.

"Why would you worry about Jake?" Emily looked confused. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"No," Embry shook his head. "That's pretty much it. But Nina would probably like it if you explained to her some of the werewolfy things we do together. She's new to this whole thing."

"Okay." Emily called out as Embry rushed out the door. We stared at it after he closed it. "Why's he in such a hurry?"

"Probably want to see all the guys together." I lied.

"Oh," She sighed. "So…you're new? How long have you been a wolf?"

"Um, about an hour." Her mouth dropped.

"Really?" She looked away. "Wow. And you are okay with it all?"

"I knew about it before." I shrugged. "Jacob told me."

She muttered something about Jacob telling the entire world about vampires. I laughed and she smiled back at me.

For a while we talked about things that the pack did on certain days and how they would spend weekends together. I found myself becoming distracted from everything that was going on with vampires and Sam, and I started to find myself becoming friends with Emily.

We were just talking about how much food was consumed in the house each day, when my cousin burst through the door. Literally.

"Quil!" Emily shouted. "I just bought a new door after Paul punched a hole through my last one."

"Sorry," he panted. He turned to me. "Nina. We need you, now!"

"Okay." I said confused.

Emily watched us step through the pile of what used to be a whitewashed door and onto her patio with confusion in her eyes.

"What on-"

Quil cut me off. "Change. It will be easier for me to explain."

I didn't question him about knowing that I was now able to change into a wolf. Jacob must have told him through his thoughts. I did as I was told and morphed into a giant gray wolf and accidentally tore Emily's clothes. I would have to remember that in the future and I hoped they didn't hold any sentimental value to her.

Quil did the same and turned into a brown wolf that was bulkier than me and very muscular. His eyes stayed the same color of brown that was almost black.

_Nina? _He asked.

_Why are you…_

_Let me tell you what happened. _He then showed me his thoughts.

**I need many ideas! Please!**


	25. Voulturi Attack

JPOV:

I watched Nina and Embry leave and I felt a twinge of jealousy that my friend could spend time with Nina when I couldn't. I knew that Embry didn't like her the way I did, but I still wanted to go with her and tell Embry to stay with Sam. He would have done so if I had asked, but he had already spent a lot of time worrying over Sam's body.

I sighed and turned to Sam.

_Sam? _I prodded his mind. We were able to enter minds of other werewolves in human form, but they couldn't hear us very well. _Can you hear me?_

He mumbled something that I couldn't make out. I nearly leapt for joy. At least he was conscious.

"Sam?" I was human again. I shook him gently. "Wake up…please. We need you."

His eyelids fluttered slightly and he took a ragged breath.

"Sam, you can do it." I turned him over. "You've got to try."

His breathing went normal and he seemed unconscious once more. It was like trying to speak to someone in a coma, but with a lot more blood covering their face.

"Sam?" I looked around willing a miracle. "Try to say something…anything."

"Emily…" He moaned softly.

The corner of my lip smiled although I still was unsure about what was happening to him. It looked like the vampire had bitten him. I wasn't sure what happened to a werewolf that was bitten by a vampire, but I didn't want to find out.

"Sam…" I sighed. "I'm sorry." I apologized, although not for a specific thing.

"It's no use." Another voice spoke gently behind me.

I spun to face Edward Cullen. "What do you want?" I spat out trying not to attack. Right now I was not in the mood to make friends with vampires.

"Where are your manners?" He glared at me with fiery hatred in his coal colored eyes. Bella must have lied because she said they were old, but every time I've seen him they are darker than night. "I've seen dogs with better manners and a friendlier disposition."

"Go away, Edward." I growled. "Aren't you supposed to stay off of our territory?"

His eyes darted over Sam for half a second before his gaze returned to mine. "Honestly, I don't care about the treaty any more. Not after what you did to Bella."

"What I did?" I felt confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You brought her straight into the path of danger." He sneered. "You took her straight to a murderer! You have put her in too much danger so far."

"Oh yeah?" I thought about how hypocritical he was and hoped he was reading my mind. "And she isn't in any danger around you, I'm sure." I said sarcastically.

"That's different." He flinched as if my words hit him. "I've warned Bella about myself but she seems not to care. I've recently learned that if I weren't around, she would be in more danger from other things. But that's not the point. You haven't even told her how dangerous you are. Just one slip…"

"Don't tell me about slipping up." I retorted. "I've never 'slipped up' and killed anyone. Can you say that?"

He ignored my question. "She doesn't seem to understand that you are dangerous. She thinks you are just some lovable dog, when in reality you are…"

"I'm no more dangerous than you." I added quickly, "Or your 'family.'"

"Well, at least we have had practice over decades. You've only recently turned into a monster. You aren't in control." He ran his hand through his hair and his scent came towards me. I leaned away not hiding my distaste.

"I've been like this for almost a full year now, and I have more control than any of the others." I took a defensive stance.

"What if one of the others hurt her then when she…"

"Why are you here." I grumbled impatient.

He leaned back. "We have to talk about the Voulturi."

"The what?" Sam exhaled suddenly and I turned around to look at him. He remained motionless again and I turned back to Edward.

"The Voulturi are from Italy." Edward whispered after a moment.

"When Bella went to…"

"Yes." Edward looked down at his feet ashamed. "When I tried to kill myself, I went to a group of vampires in Italy. They are the same."

I felt disgusted. He was such a coward to kill himself because someone delivered him some bad news. I heard Edward growl, probably at my thoughts, and I turned back to looking at Sam.

"So…how many vampires are there from the Voltory or whatever it's called."

I heard him take a deep intake of breath. "There are…quite a lot."

"Ten…twenty?" I guessed.

"Try about…one hundred." He curled his fists and I realized that I was doing the same.

"So what does this have to do with us?" Uncurling my fists, I tried to act uncaring.

"The Voulturi took a special interest in Bella because of her…abnormalities." A brief smile passed over his face. "They decided that she must be changed because she knows too much about my kind."

"That…you can't…. you can't just do that to Bella!" I shouted. "That breaks the treaty." I shuddered at the thought of her being cold and bloodthirsty.

"We have no choice." Edward smashed a tree and I gapped at him. I hadn't expected him to be angry. I thought he would have been happy to have Bella be a vampire like him. "They will kill her if she isn't changed."

"Then she just shouldn't come back to Italy." I felt frustrated.

"Don't be a simpleton." He glared. "They would just come anyways to here and change her. They've already sent one person, as I see your…friend," He looked unsure of whether or not Sam was a friend. "has noticed."

"Wh-" I began but he cut me off.

"They are not like us." Edward looked very threatening. "They do not try to rise above what they are. They think everyone is inferior to them, especially werewolves."

I shook with anger. "We could just…"

He laughed a cold mirthless laugh that chilled my bones. "Fight them? Don't be ridiculous. I've already told you they are greater in numbers and more aggressive than any of us." He smiled and made me feel younger and stupider than he was. "I haven't even brushed upon how mush more powerful they are."

"Powerful?" I repeated.

"The Voulturi are a group of the fastest, strongest most able vampires in the world." He went on. "Each and every one of them has unique and deadly abilities. It is impossible to hide from them because they have superb trackers that can know where you are instantly without ever second-guessing…even if you flew to a different planet. They could torture you to insanity without raising a finger."

I cringed. "So it is inevitable for her to be changed."

"The Voulturi have taken such a special interest in Bella because she is immune to their abilities." He said slowly choosing words carefully. "They are curious to see what would happen if she were a vampire."

I stared blankly at him.

"Human's traits are intensified a tenfold when they become vampires." He explained. "Bella already has a talent that would be impressive as a vampire. To imagine her showing all of her possible ability has a certain appeal to the Voulturi. They want for her to join them."

"That's…" I tried to find the word.

"Unfair." He offered. "I know. I despise the thought of her being like us."

I thought about asking him why, but then decided that it didn't matter. He heard my thoughts anyways.

"I don't want her to be stuck like me." Edward looked at Sam again to avoid my face. "I am going to be this way forever. She could have a normal life without…"

"Don't be stupid." I snapped. "Bella isn't normal."

"No," he murmured, more to himself than to me. "She really isn't."

He looked lost in thought and I hated every moment of silence. Each second could be important to Sam, and Edward was wasting it by thinking.

"What are we going to do about the Voulturi?" I asked gruffly. My thoughts turned to epic battles and strategies. There was always a way to win an unbeatable battle.

"Nothing of that sort." Edward looked down. "We are going to change Bella before they can."

I growled loudly to show my opinion of that idea.

"If we don't, they will." He met my fierce look and glared back at me. "I came here to tell you that we have to break the treaty."

I sighed and willed myself to calm down. "When are you going to…you know…bite her?"

"Sooner than we expected." He looked upset. "We were planning on doing it after graduation so that no one would figure she was not …her usual self."

"So when?" I asked.

"Right now." He said so quietly I wasn't sure I heard right.

"Now?" I roared. "You didn't even …I can't believe you wou-"

"The Voulturi were already here." He moaned. "We had no choice. If we didn't she would be killed."

I thought about when I had last seen her. I hadn't realized that today would be the last time I could ever talk to her without wanting to hurt her. I felt at my eyes and realized that they were wet. I didn't bother to wipe away my tears. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything other than the fact that Bella was going to be just like the Cullens.

Being mortal enemies with your best friend was an awkward situation.

"Hello, Edward." Another voice broke the silence. "And mutt." The vampire added with distaste.

"You're the one that did this to Sam, aren't you?" I growled recognizing him from Embry's mind.

I heard another growl behind me and turned to see Quil in his wolf form. I smiled at him before turning to the vampire.

"How cute." He laughed. "Two little puppies want to avenge their alpha. Tell me, how are you planning to hurt me if the strongest among you didn't have a chance?"

There was a howl in the distance met by another one that was closer. Paul and Jared must be coming. I tried to stay calm and distract him.

"Why did you attack?" I asked.

"Sport." He shrugged. "Humans hunt for wolves too." The vampire grinned and stepped closer.

"You disgust me." Edward appeared to be repressing a shudder.

"Don't worry." The vampire looked him over. "I have to say the same for you. Eating animals…that's vile." He spat.

"Not as bad as killing people, Eustacius." Edward leaned away towards me, which was a first. Normally, he leaned as far away from me as he could be.

"One day you will wake up as realize that killing for fun is the most amazing thing in all of your existence." The vampire smirked and his teeth showed. "You will never receive the same pleasure from chasing rabbits and squirrels."

Edward backed away. "Go away. You've done what Aro sent you to do."

"Yes, but it wasn't even that much fun." He sighed. "She was already bitten. The only excitement I've gotten from this trip is by tearing up werewolves."

He looked at Sam and I turned into my wolf form instinctively.

"Look!" He laughed. "The wolf cub wants to fight. I warned him too."

_Paul, Jared. Where are you?_ I asked silently.

_Not too far away. I'm only a mile away and Paul is not too far behind me. _Jared thought. _We will be there in a minute._

_Quil, _I didn't turn around to face him even though I knew he was right behind me. _Is Nina safe?_

_Emily said she was at her house with Embry. _Quil informed me. _Emily called us all and said we needed to be by Sam. I found your scent and followed it to here. What's up with the vampires? _

I heard Embry's thoughts and realized that he was coming. I thought about our chances right now. _Quil? Could you make sure that Nina is here? I don't want for her to come, but we do really need her to watch over Sam if we are all fighting._

_She won't like it. _He turned to go anyways. _Don't do anything stupid, Jake._

"Look, one of the wolves is leaving you to fight by yourself." The vampire watched Quil leave amusedly. "He's the smart one. It seems he got all the intellectual genes from the gene pool."

I growled and kept my eyes on the vampire. He walked towards me with grace that reminded me of a ghost.

"Are you still ready to fight now that you are alone?" He taunted.

Trying to repress the urge to exchange blows with him right now, I searched for Jared's mind. _Where are you?_

_Hang on Jake. _He thought. _Wait a few more seconds._

I looked at Sam and wanted to check if he was all right. I didn't dare turn my back to the vampire though, so I stayed where I was.

"So, puppy." The vampire advanced. "Let me teach you how to really fight."

He lunged forward and I tried to snap him with my teeth but missed. He scraped my ear with his fingers but I managed to get away without any other harm before lunging my paw at his face. I managed to scrape his nose, but the pain only seemed to make him more vicious.

His strength was inhuman and he moved quicker than I could, but I was more powerful and had the upper hand half of the time. He was able to strike me quicker, but I hit back harder.

Jared joined in the fight sometime, but he only helped a little. He wasn't much of a fighter and I would have rather had Paul join first.

The vampire bit and scratched angrily at us. He wore down Jared quickly until he was of almost no advantage to me. Jared dripped in a mixture of vampire and werewolf blood as he backed away.

_Sorry, Jake. _He apologized. _I can't do much more._

_Watch over Sam. _I tore at the vampire with my fangs. I sunk my claws into his skin and felt pain on my right paw from were the vampire had bit me before.

We fought with fury until we were both in a ragged shape.

"I suppose that I gave you less credit." The vampire panted grinning. "You've really given me a fun time. But now it's over."

He sprung at me and knocked me to the side and began to try to break my neck. I struggled but was confused because of a lack of oxygen. It was hard to breathe and everything looked different.

I felt him knocked off of me by someone but couldn't see who. I heard Nina's voice, although I might have imagined that, and someone calling my name. Then everything went black.

**This was really long.**

**Anyways…should I kill Jake? I'm not sure.**

**Also…note about Nina and Jacob. They aren't related. Jake is Quil's second cousin on Quil's mother's side. Nina is related to Quil's mother because she is her niece, but not to Jake. It works out if you think about it for a long time. So for those of you who were worried about Jake and Nina being cousins or whatever…they aren't.**

**Thanks reviewers! I heart you.**


	26. Dead?

NPOV:

When I heard that Jacob was in danger, I sprinted as fast as I could through the trees to get to him. I had never run so fast in my life, and I loved it. I hated myself for loving it when Jacob was in danger. But I still treasured it.

I reached the spot where Sam was in only a minute. I had left Quil far behind but I couldn't bring myself to care. I looked around and saw another wolf by Sam's body. I tried to look at his mind.

_Where's Jacob? _I asked him panicking.

_He's over there. _The wolf pointed his bleeding nose towards a part in the woods that looked like it had been bulldozed. _Be careful though._

I nodded. _Thanks…_

_Jared. _He thought. _It's the least I can do. I'm not much help with fighting._

I rushed off following the path of broken trees and blood. Ignoring the want to go back away from the smell of vampire, I pushed forward trying to see Jacob.

When I arrived, a vampire was on his throat strangling him while Edward was trying to pull him off.

_Jacob! _I screamed but it was silent to anyone other than a werewolf. _Jacob! No, fight Jacob. Fight!_

I assisted in pulling off the vampire and I slammed him against a tree full of fury. I didn't try to fight him more because I was more concerned about making sure Jacob was okay.

_Please be alive, Jacob. _I thought. _Don't die. I couldn't bear for you to die._

I licked the blood off of his wounds and put my head next to his mouth to see if he was breathing. I didn't feel any air. I kept my head there for a minute praying that he would breathe and that I just wasn't feeling it. Nothing.

I lowered my ear to his chest and felt a low slow pulse. It wasn't strong but it was hope. _Come on, Jacob. I know you can do this._ _Please pull through._

I touched my nose to his. There was blood on it and I tenderly wiped it off. I had never thought that Jacob could die. I knew that I would but I had never imagined that he could die before me. My heart felt as if it were trampled and broken. My entire body was sad.

A cold hand touched my shoulder. "I'm sorry." I turned to see Edward standing over me.

I pushed his hand off of me. It couldn't be true. Jacob couldn't be dead. I refused to believe it thinking that maybe if I willed it not to be true hard enough it wouldn't be true.

I stroked his cuts with my snout and inched over until I was laying on him lightly so as to make it easy for him to breathe if he needed to. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be.

I must have fallen asleep like that because the next thing I knew, I was in Quil's room on his navy blue bed. I got up quickly. Could that all have just been a terrible realistic nightmare?

Quil walked in wearing just boxers. "Oh… you're up." He looked at me sadly. "If you turn back we can talk."

I realized that I was still a wolf so I focused on turning back to myself. This time it came easier than I expected. My fur turned into skin and my claws disappeared before I knew it.

"What…" I asked.

"Let me explain." He interrupted.

**SUPER short chapter! Makes up for the long one.**


	27. Unconsciousness

NPOV:

"Could you sit down, Nina." Quil looked at me. "I don't want you…this is going to be…" He sighed.

"How 'bout we start with why I'm in your room." I didn't want to hear about Jacob right now fearing that if I asked my worst fears would be confirmed.

"Nina, you were a wolf." Quil sighed. "We couldn't fit you through the small window in the guest bedroom and we obviously can't take you through the front door. My mom would freak."

"So Aunt Lucy doesn't know that we are werewolves?" I had thought she did, but maybe they didn't tell anyone, with a few exceptions.

"No," Quil shook his head. "She would have a seizure if she did know though. You know how she is about …wildlife."

That was a polite way of saying that she nearly fainted every time she saw a bug or, god forbid, a mouse. I didn't think she would like wolves if she thought that a squirrel was potentially dangerous.

"Well…how's Sam?" I thought about his cuts.

"I think Emily is more upset than Sam is right now." Quil laughed although his eyes didn't match his smile. It seemed forced. "Sam is going to be fine. He just has a few scars. We told the doctors it was a bear mauling just like Emily. They've now roped off the area as a 'dangerous bear' zone."

I was happy that he seemed all right. When he was crumpled up on the forest floor covered in blood, he looked like an extra in a horror film with a deranged murderer.

"What about…Jacob?" I remembered his lack of breathing and shivered. He couldn't be dead…could he?

"He's not dead." Quil looked sadly at the floor.

"Really?" My hopes rose. "Can I go talk to him?"

Quil stood up and paced. "No…Jake can't really talk to anyone right now."

"Why?" What had happened to Jacob? I had no idea what was going on and I didn't know anything about what a werewolf could live through.

"He isn't dead…but he isn't really alive either." He looked down at me with a mixture of pity and sorrow in his eyes. "Jake is in a coma."

"So we have to wait for him to wake up, right?" I was just glad he was alive. It didn't matter right now that he couldn't do anything. As long as he could pull through eventually, everything would be fine. "Coma's just mean that a person can't move at the moment. People wake up from coma's all the time."

"Nina." Stopping his pacing, Quil sat down next to me. "Jake is in a coma now, but we aren't sure when he'll wake up, or even if he'll wake up. The doctors think that he has a fifty-fifty chance of coming around. If not he will…well…he might never get up."

"He has to though!" I felt my eyes tearing up. "He just has to. I can't live without…"

Quil shushed me and held me in his arms. He rocked me and it made me feel better. I knew that Jacob was in a coma, but I felt more positive that he would wake up.

"Why's he in a coma, Quil?" I wiped a tear from my cheek. "Why?"

"The doctors said that the oxygen was cut off from him for a while. They think that…"

"No." I shook my head. "Why Jacob? He's so good. Why can't it be someone else?"

Quil didn't have an answer to that so he just stroked my hair softly like he used to do when we were little kids. He always loved to play with my hair and I always felt comforted when he did it.

We stayed like that for a while and Quil occasionally would tell me a story about Jacob.

"When we were about eight, we went to Cedar Point with our class for a summer field trip." Quil smiled sadly. "Jake wanted to go on all the brand new roller coasters. We had fun until Jake hurled all over me because of the mixture of junk food and crazy rides. He now won't even touch cotton candy because he felt so sick."

"Quil?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He looked at me.

"How long have you known him?" I asked feeling slightly jealous that he had spent so much time with Jacob and I had barely gotten a week.

"Forever." One side of his mouth turned up to form a half smile. "Since we were in preschool at least."

"Oh." I thought for a while. "Do you think we could visit him?"

"Together?" Quil looked at me.

"Yeah. I'd like that." I leaned back against him.

"Nina," Quil looked sad again. "I glanced at him while you were sleeping, he didn't look good. I don't want for you to loose hope by…"

"Quil, I would feel worse if I didn't see him." I said truthfully. "Now can we go?"

He paused before agreeing. "I suppose…but just be ready."

**Jake might die….what do you think? I have a 50-50 chance of killing him depending on reviews. No reviews dead jake.**


	28. Dying

NPOV:

When Quil pulled up the car into the hospital parking lot, I felt nervous. It was absolutely irrational, but I had butterflies in my stomach. Quil must have sensed that I was feeling a little quaky because he patted my hand.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He asked unsure of if he was doing the right thing.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I looked straight forward through the dashboard window. "I'm just slightly motion sick…that's all."

"Nina…" Quil was going to say something but didn't. It was obvious that he hadn't bought my motion sickness theory. I never was car sick, I normally wanted to go faster.

He parked the car and I got out slowly. He walked around to my side before I was entirely out.

"Come on." He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me gently.

I put my arm around his waist and we walked together. Passersby wouldn't have known we were cousins by the way we were walking. We looked like we were dating, but I didn't care how I looked anymore. I didn't think Quil did either because he didn't loosen his grip around me.

We took the elevator up to the third floor and walked into a white hallway lit with florescent lights. There were wooden railings along all the walls so that people could use them for balance. Quil talked to a lady at a desk about visiting and I looked around.

There were chairs all over the place and magazines and newspapers were spread across tables. I glanced at the people around but my eyes lingered on a family.

There was a man in a light blue shirt that had heavy circles under his eyes as if he had been up for many late nights. Two boys that appeared to be in preschool played with hot wheels and made loud noises that sounded like revving engines. The man attempted to quiet them and an elderly woman reading a paper shot a disapproving look at him.

I walked over to the two boys and knelt down besides them.

"What have you got there?" I asked the younger of the two.

"Car." He flew it in the air and had it land on my arm.

"Max, stop bothering the girl." The father looked at me apologetically.

"Oh no." I shook my head and smiled. "He's no bother at all. I like kids."

The man smiled back and his eyes looked heartrending. He couldn't have been more than thirty but he looked older and more worn down.

Max smashed his car against his older brother's and they argued about which car was better. They kept making up more cool features that their car had.

"Yeah, well my car has flame shooters." The older one said.

"Mine is fire-proof," Max countered. "And it squirts out water here and the cars go flying back." He pushed the other car back.

"Mine has a shield so you can't do that." The older one shoved the younger ones hand away. "My shield will force yours back."

I looked to the older one. "What's your name?"

"Zach." He smiled and I saw that he had a gap in between some if his teeth. He must have just lost one because it was slightly bloody.

"Hi, Zach." I beamed back. "How old are you?"

"Five." He held up a handful of fingers.

"And how old are you?" I turned to Max.

"Um… three!" He held up three fingers although one of them was only halfway up. I put three fingers up as well and touched mine to his.

"Three's a good number." I saw him looked pleased with himself.

"Five is better though." Zach added in. "Next year, next year I'm gonna be in Kindergarten."

"Wow, you're big." He grinned and showed the gap in his mouth again. "You too." I added because Max's smile had drooped a bit. When I said that, he lit back up again.

We played with the cars for a minute or two and the boys talked to me about how their mom was in the hospital and they came to visit her everyday. I didn't find out why she was sick though because the most they would say was that she is 'really tired a lot'.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and turned to see Quil looking worried.

"You scared me." He sighed heavily. "I thought that you ran off to go looking for Jake."

"Nope." I stood up again. "I'm still here."

"Do you have to leave?" Zach looked sad.

"Can't you stay?" Max tugged on the corner of my shirt. "One more minute?"

"Pleease?" Zach pleaded. I become aware of how his hair fell into his eyes and he needed a haircut. His father must not have noticed that.

"I have to go, guys." I apologized. "I'm sorry."

"Take this." A small hand pushed a toy car into my hand.

"I can't take your car, Max." I tried to hand it back but his hands didn't close around it. "It's yours."

"No you take it." He looked defiant. "You are the first person to play cars with us for a long time. You need it."

"Thank you." I murmured as Quil pulled me away with a questioning look in his eyes. As I left them I heard his father comment on how nice that was as he pulled out another car from a giant bag. At least I wasn't carrying away his only toy car.

"Did you know those people?" Quil asked as he took my hand in his big one.

I shook my head and he didn't inquire further.

We walked past several opened and closed doors. I only looked into a few of them, but very discreetly so that I wouldn't be rude. Some people were crying and others were laughing. Some rooms were empty and I found those to be the most depressing ones for some reason.

The nurses stood out from the patients because of the clothes that they wore. They were all matching and wore rubber gloves while carrying clipboards. The patients wore striped clothing and baggy yoga pants. Other people were dressed normally, but there were small traces of sadness on each of them. One lady had smeared lipstick that rubbed off some places. Another man had an un-tucked shirt which looked strange because he looked very business-like.

Quil stopped in front of a room towards the end of the hall. A small number plate next to it read 329A.

"Are you positive, Nina?" Quil asked me.

"Do you think I would come all this way just to go back?" I shook my head. "You know me better than that."

I opened the door and saw a person sitting in a chair before I saw Jacob. The woman in the chair got up and left as she saw me come in. As she passed me I caught a tang of Channel perfume that was used in heavy doses.

I turned to Jacob and covered my mouth with my hands instinctively to keep me from gasping out.

**I could have left it here but I want to get it all out.**

His gashes were less bloody, but that only made them look worse because you could see how deep they were. Some of them looked as if they had been there for weeks and were healing quickly. A few of them stood out and looked fresh.

I hadn't gasped at those though because I had expected that. I gasped because of the tubes that ran from a machine to Jacob's nose and arm. I had seen them in episodes of hospital dramas, but I had never expected to see them on a person I loved.

His face was pale and he looked as if he was dead. I had always thought comas were just like sleeping but Jacob looked as if he was inches away from death. I rushed over to his side and grabbed his hand in mine.

"Oh, Jacob." I moaned.

Quil's hand went to my shoulder and I could feel him watching me even though my eyes were on Jacob.

"Nina." He breathed my name. "I-I'm so sorry."

I looked up and saw him trying to hide tears. Quil never cried. He was always there to be strong and dependable. When he broke his arm at my house when we were in fifth grade he didn't cry. He actually laughed because he said it hurt so much. Seeing him cry like this was worse than seeing Jacob covered in tubes. Any hope for Jacob drained away seeing Quil so close to tears.

I sobbed and Quil pulled me into a bone crushing hug. We hugged each other as tight as we could until we couldn't be any closer. Both of our bodies shook from tears. When I looked up, his face was dry though. His nose was slightly runny, but I couldn't tell that he had been crying.

"Quil." My voice cracked. "I-I…"

"You don't have to say anything." His voice was lower than usual and contained no emotion. "I understand."

I shook my head. He didn't understand because he didn't love Jacob in the same way I did. His world wouldn't collapse if he died. His world would just be sadder.

I turned my face away from Quil and looked down to Jacob.

"Would you mind if I had a moment alone with him?" I asked while wiping my face.

Quil didn't say anything but I heard him back out of the room and shut the door quietly behind him. When I heard the click of the door sliding into place, I picked up Jacob's hand again and rubbed circles into it in the same way I did when my mom was dying.

Why was it that I had to see so many people in hospitals? Why was it that my mom died in a hospital and now the person I loved more than the universe was dying in a hospital? Shouldn't there be some amount of sorrow that was dispersed equally in people's lives?

It seemed like I was taking more than my fair share of misery. My only comfort was that if Jacob died, I wouldn't be too far behind. I didn't fear death, but I would have liked to live longer. I would have liked to have children that I could play with.

I picked up the toy car that had fallen to the floor while Quil and I had embraced. I spun it around in my free hand that wasn't holding Jacob's.

"Here." I opened his fingers and curled them around the toy car. "Some one gave this to me, but I think you need it more."

He stayed still and unresponsive. He didn't show any recognition that I was there. Unlike in movies or books, he didn't suddenly wake up and tear off the mask on his face. He didn't murmur my name or squeeze tighter on the car.

He looked as lifeless as before.

"Jacob." I took a deep breath. "I know you can't here me but I want you to know….I love you. I know that those words are used too often and that there meaning is messed up sometimes, but it is true. I love you."

He said nothing back, although I didn't expect he would.

"Jacob." I kissed his hand. "I wish…I wish I could talk to you one more time. It may seem strange but I have a sinking feeling that you are going to die no matter what I do. The scariest thing is that my instinct is never wrong about important things like this."

I sniffed and wiped my nose. "I was right about coming here and knowing that something good would happen. I was right about my mom not telling me…I was right. This time…I am scared that I am going to be right. I want to be wrong. I want to be absolutely mistaken about this."

I felt wetness trickle down my face. I sat in silence for a moment but the silence felt wrong. So I began to talk again even though my voice was heard by no one.

"All of my life," I cried. "I've fought and fought and fought for what I've wanted. But now I can't fight any further. I have to sit here and wait. I have to wait for you to get better or…well I have to wait."

I looked at the ceiling and tried to have my tears not drip out more. My attempt was fruitless though and more streams fell down my face.

"Waiting…it can be a sort of fighting though." I said after a while. "I'm beginning to realize that staying in one spot can be fighting too. You don't have to fight to get somewhere. You can fight to just stay the same."

I looked at Jacob and he hadn't moved a centimeter.

"I want things to be the same as they were before." I choked on my words. "I want things to be normal for us. I want us to be sitting in my Aunt's living room eating cookies and laughing.

"I HATE HOSPITALS!" I yelled angrily. "I hate them."

I let the tears soak my face slowly. The phrase 'cry me a river' was starting to seem like a possible feat. In my life I had shed enough tears to fill up a bucket, if not an entire river.

I sighed and moved Jacob's hand to over his chest. His fingers were loose from where I curled them around the car and he looked like a corpse.

"Forgive me." I said to the ceiling tiles. "I don't know what I did wrong in life, but if there is karma I seem to be getting the punishment for something. I don't know what I did wrong…I don't know anything."

I looked back to Jacob's cold face and I kissed his cheek gently. I traced my fingers along a scar next to his nose and bit my lip to keep fresh tears from cascading down.

When I stopped biting my lip I tasted blood. I swallowed it and grimaced.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." I hastily wiped the tears from my face and looked up to the door to see who was there.

**I have to go. I hope you enjoy the chapter. I sure do enjoy seeing your reviews. Especially the 100 review one. **

**This chapter was really sad for me to write. It didn't make me cry but I don't feel really happy now. I have never written a sad chapter before so coments are more than welcome.**


	29. Dead Garden

NPOV:

A doctor walked in with Quil following him. The doctor was tall and blonde and looked like he should be in a hospital drama rather than in a real hospital. He couldn't be more than thirty. He had on similar cologne to the one that Edward wore and I would have to remind myself never to let Jacob buy that cologne if he woke up.

"Nina," Quil looked at the doctor with distaste. "This is Dr. Cullen." He quickly said the name as though it burned his tongue. "He was the only doctor that could help because he knows about vampires."

"Pleased to meet you." He stuck out a hand for me to shake and I shook it warily.

"Will Jacob…what are…when he gets…." Trying to ask multiple questions at once is extremely difficult.

"One question at a time, now." I heard a slight British accent in his voice but it was well covered by an American one.

"Will Jacob be all right?" I asked the most important one first.

"That is a tricky question because there are so many answers." He glanced at Jacob's body. "There is an equal probability between him regaining consciousness and never regaining it. If he did wake up however, he might never be the exact same as he was before. It is common for people coming out of comas to be unable to use their bodies in the same way."

"Oh, okay." I nodded. "Um…why is Jacob in a coma?" I asked another question in my head.

"Often times comas happen because of strokes, central nervous system disabilities or metabolic abnormalities. Obviously none of these happened to him." He looked back down to Jacob. "When the oxygen was cut off from the brain by a member of the Volturi, parts of his brain shut down completely. So we induced the coma in order to preserve higher brain functioning after other brain trauma."

"Huh?" I didn't understand what he had just said.

"He means that they put him in a coma to save his life." Quil explained in my simpler language.

"I see, but how long will he be in a coma?"

Dr. Cullen looked unsure for the first time he walked into the room.

"I have no idea." He shook his head. "Comas generally last a few weeks, between 2-5, but I am not sure in this situation. I've never seen a strangled werewolf before."

"So when he wakes up," I said positively, "what will be the outcome?"

"Well, some patients come out gradually and he might be in a vegetative state for a while. It's normal though so it wouldn't be something to worry about."

"Vegetative state…" I repeated softly.

"It means he will be as responsive as a vegetable." Quil said.

"I know what it means." I frowned. "How long would that last?"

"He might be aware and out of it in a few days…but sometimes it can last years or even decades. The outcome for coma and vegetative state depends on the cause, location, severity and extent of neurological damage. A deeper coma alone does not necessarily mean a slimmer chance of recovery, because some people in deep coma recover well while others in a so-called milder coma sometimes fail to improve."

I blinked. I couldn't wait for decades. I would be dead before he could even say my name. This was almost as bad as him being dead now. I would never talk to him again.

"Let's just say that he did return in a few days." I said. "Would he be able to talk to me?"

"Sometimes comatose patients never regain the ability to say more than a few sentances, but I wouldn't worry about that because most people do regain the ability to talk. They sometimes don't regain the ability to move or walk, but they can normally talk."

"Okay…" I sighed and held Jacob's hand in mine. My small fingers barely wrapped around his larger ones.

"Anything else?" He asked polietly.

"N-yes." I changed my decline to a nod. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's my job." He pointed to a name tag on his white shirt. "I help sick people."

"No. I meant why are you helping him when you are a vampire?" I thought about the expression that the attacking vampire wore when he looked at Jacob. "Aren't we mortal enemies, or whatever you want to call it?"

The doctor sat down on a swivel chair and gave me a undecipherable look. "What type of being we are doesn't make us who we are."

I groaned internally at the cryptic message. "What does that mean?"

"It means that our choices make up who we are and not what we are." He said with more wisdom than a guy in his mid-twenties should have. "Just because I am a vampire, doesn't mean I have to fit into the stereotype. My family has tried to rise above other vampires in compassion. We don't want to be killers."

"Are you by any chance related to Bella's boyfriend?" I asked sudenly seeing similarities between them.

"I am his adopitve father, so yes." He smiled. "We both have the same…habits."

I looked back at Jacob. "Do you think he's going to make it?"

"I'm not sure." He gave me a pitying look. "I hope so."

"Would you mind if…could you please leave for a minute?" I wasn't sure if that was rude or not.

"No problem." Both he and Quil got up at the same time.

"No, Quil." I reached out for him. "Please stay."

He sat back down in a small padded seat. His size made the chair seem more miniscule and it looked like it was straining to fit him. The vampire doctor left the room silently and if I hadn't known he was leaving, I wouldn't have noticed.

Quil turned to me expecting me to say something.

"Quil." I breathed his name. He came over to my side and stood over me with his warm hands resting on my shoulders.

"Do you want to go home?" He asked sweetly. He had never been so caring for me in my life. I had known that he loved me in a friendly way, but he normally showed that by excessive teasing rather than affection.

"Not really." I looked at Jacob's serene face. "I think I want to stay here for a bit longer."

"Okay." He massaged small circles on my shoulder blades. "Do you want to stay with Jake or go for a walk?"

"Let's walk somewhere for a bit." I bit my lip. "I have too much energy to burn off."

He pulled me towards him and took my hand in his. As we walked towards the wooden door, I felt that something was wrong. There was something I needed to do.

"Wait." I put my other hand on Quil's chest. He stopped abruptly and looked at me with worry filled eyes. "We have to say goodbye."

His eyes showed understanding and he said a quick farewell to Jacob.

"Bye, Jacob." I whispered. "I love you. We'll be back in a minute."

Neither us were surprised that he didn't show any recoginition at our voices. We had expected it. Slowly, I was getting to become more used to seeing Jacob in this comatose state.

We walked down the hallway and Quil guided me around people. I wasn't paying attnetion to my surroundings and I was unfocused. My thoughts flooded my head painfully, but I couldn't push them away. Quil didn't seem to mind my lack of talking.

He guided me into a garden like area with glass windows all around it. There were trees and shrubbery growing around the gardens and long sofa's with hundres of pillows were spred out under the plants.

I watched some patients and visitors walking around. A man pulled a monitor that dripped water into his arm beside him. There were a group of children that were throwing pillows at eachother and two adults that were trying to stop them.

Quil found a deserted long sofa in the corner that was hiden behind pots of flowers and a group of hedges. I sat down and saw that the pillows had the tags cut off of them. I looked up and saw that I was still inside and that there was a concrete ceiling above the garden area.

Just as I was about to ask Quil how it all grew if there was no sun, I realized that all the plants were fake. I knocked on the 'wood' on a tree and heard a hollow echo sound. Although it looked real, the bark was just plaster.

I exampined the shrubs and planted flowers to find that it was all plastic and fabric made into an artful garden. I leaned back down against the cusiony pillows.

I eyed the place and made a mental note of each fake plant that was made to look alive. Even the bricks that made a path on the floor weren't real. They were made of a mixture of silicone and plaster that was molded and painted.

Eyeing the fake leaves on the tree's that were the most realistic fake leaves I had seen I my life, a shine caught my eye. I looked up into the branches and saw a silver necklace hanging at the top on the tree alone and forgotten.

If things were the way they were before I came to La Push, I might have made up a story about why and how it got up there. I would have imagined people and their lives. I would have made up a story about how they had a locket and who they were seeing in the hospital. But it wasn't before I came here. I was different now, and so I turned away from the mystery and looked for something else.

I saw a copper plaque across the room with letters engraved into it.

"I'm going to read that, over there." I whispered to Quil.

He jumped surprised that I was talking. "Wh-oh…yeah."

I left him and headed over to the gleaming plaque that was mounted on a stand. Peering from far off, I could make out the headline that read a person's name. I walked forward until I was directly in front of it before reading it.

_Georgia R. Thompson_

_(1928-1999)_

_This Garden is deticated in her memory. She was a lively woman who had compassion for all. Inspiring us all, she worked hard as a hospital nurse from the age of twenty until the day she died of a stroke. Always selfless, she will remain in our hearts forever. This garden is meant to bring life and happiness to all who walk in it. _

I nearly laughed as I read that last line. I re-read it again to make sure that I had read it correctly the first time. 'Meant to bring life and happiness' That was a joke. The fact that everything in the garden wasn't living was depressing. I wasn't sure how a terminally ill person could walk here and feel happy if they knew they might never see a real tree in their life again. It just made me think of how different I was. Normal people were able to see real plants. I was stuck with plastic imitations of plants.

I sighed and walked away towards Quil.

"Can we go somewhere else?" I pleaded. "Anywhere else.

"Is the cafeteria okay?" He looked me over and noticed that I was distressed.

"Great. Lovely. Perfect." I pulled him to his feet. "Let's go."

**The garden thing is real in a hospital I went to while visiting my mom there. They were all fake plants and I remember that being depressing. I am thinking of a soulution for those of you who don't want Jake to die. I will write two different endings. One will be better and more sad…if I write it right, and the other will have a happy ending for those of you who can't stand for Jake to die.**

**Although him coming out of a coma is really corny. I hope you know that.**


	30. Hotwheels

NPOV:

For two whole weeks, I sat beside Jacob. I had gotten more pity than I could ever want, and hearing Quil and Embry talk about me was almost as bad as Jacob being in a comatose state. They kept whispering about whether or not to move me. Quil was worried that if I morphed into a wolf now, I might turn feral and never come back. Embry looked sick all the time and his look of grief and sympathy broke my heart every time I saw it.

"You can get better, Jacob." I kissed his hand lightly. "You can."

I knew that he wasn't going to wake up. I was deluding myself to keep away the pain of recognition. I was also aware of the fact that I was dying.

During the last few days, it had become harder for me to breathe and I felt like I was sucking air through a coffee straw. The doctors accounted my weariness as me simply being lovesick and worried.

The door opened and I looked up to see two familiar faces grinning. Max and Zach, the two kids who had given me their cars, pulled in their stressed father.

"Nina!" The littler boy attempted to hug me but was unsuccessful because I was sitting in a chair. I lifted him up and put him on my lap.

"Me too!" Max sat on my other leg.

I squeezed them both. "What are you doing here?" I asked happily. This was a momentary distraction from my pain and I was grateful. These boys were my personal angels right now.

"You're friend told us you were here." I looked up and saw Quil smiling in the corner of the doorway.

"Boys." Their father looked at them. "Make sure you don't annoy her. There are chairs over there if you want to…"

"It's fine sir." I interrupted. "They can't annoy me. And it is fine if they sit here. That's why I have two legs! One for Max and one for Zach."

"Well…if you're sure." He looked grateful. "Do you think you could watch over them for a minute? I mean I don't want to intrude and I don't really know you…"

"Go." I looked at the two brothers. "I've got them."

"Thank you!" He smiled at me and I could see a small glimmer of someone who was once young and good-looking hidden.

"Bye!"

"We're gonna have fun." Max grinned. "Where's your car?"

I pointed to Jacob's hand. "He's borrowing it for a while, but I don't think he will mind if I use it while he is in a…while he's sleeping."

As his fingers opened easily, I took the car from him and curled his hand up again before placing it over his chest. I thought he would like for me to play with it.

"Do you have your cars?" I asked them.

They both held up shining cars made of plastic and metal. "We're ready to drive!" They chanted. "We're ready to drive."

Quil laughed and left me alone. It was surprising how two little kids could cheer up everyone's lives. I was happy to be rid of the pain. Quil was happy to see me happy, and no doubt Embry would be too when he heard. The boys' father was happy to have some alone time to see his wife. And I think that Jacob would be happy too if he were better.

We played for an hour or so and I learned more about the boys' lives. They used to have a sister, but then she died of leukemia. Max never met her because he was born just after she died, but Zach remembers a bit.

They kept asking about Jacob and I found myself telling them how sweet he was. I didn't mention the werewolf part, but I told them a lot of other things. They teased me a bit for having a boyfriend, but then they went back to discussing cars.

"Hey, guys." Their father appeared again in the doorframe. "It's time to go."

"What?" Zach looked at a plastic buzz lightyear watch on his right wrist. "We haven't been here for long. It's only…um…." He looked at the hour hand and his face grew thoughtful as he tried to count the minutes.

"We haven't been here for long." Max begged. "Five more minutes?"

"Pleease?" Zach looked up from his watch and gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"You've been here for an hour. It's long enough." He smiled at their expressions. "Besides, your aunt is at the airport waiting to see you. She came all the way from LA for a visit."

"Ew, Aunt Nova is coming." Zach scrunched up his nose. "That just gives us a reason to stay here."

"Don't talk about your aunt like that." He frowned. "She's come a long way just to see you."

"She stinks!" Max pinched his nose and looked unbearably cute for a three year old. "She smells too sweet. It is gross."

"It's called fumes." Zach said, proud to know something. "Women put on fumes to make guys like them."

"That doesn't make me like her."

"It's called perfume, Zach." Their father rolled his eyes. "And don't say anything mean to her unless you want to loose all your toys for a day."

The boys complained for a bit to each other about how unfair grownups were.

"Hey, thanks for keeping an eye on them." The man whispered to me. "I really appreciate it."

He handed me a twenty-dollar bill but I pushed it away. "No. You have no idea how much I liked it. Keep your money."

He tried to give it to me again. "I insist."

"I don't want your money." I shook my head. "I wouldn't be able to use it anyways."

He looked at me questioningly for a minute but let it go.

"Bye, guys." I waved to the two of them.

Max waved back sweetly and Zach made a peace sign. I laughed.

I looked back to where Jacob was lying and my smile faded slightly. He was still unresponsive to me and it hurt to know that he was probably never going to say my name again. If only vampires never existed, we could have had so much together.

"Nina." I turned at my name to see Quil eyeing me sadly.

"Thanks." I knew he understood.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" He asked unsure.

I shook my head and turned back to my love. Taking the car in my hand, I slipped it back into his so that he could have it.

Quil pulled up a chair next to me and we both watched Jacob. There was no need to speak. I could communicate how I felt better by silence than by words. I felt his hand pick up mine and I tightened our grip.

"What are you going to do when we are both gone?" I asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me with curiosity.

"When Jacob and I die, what are you g-"

"No." His hand held mine more firmly. "I won't let you kill yourself if he…I can't stand to loose both of you."

"I don't have to kill myself to die." I felt my throat tighten. "I'm already dying."

"So am I." He growled. "We all die of old age. It just happens, but that doesn't mean…"

"No." I furrowed my brows in frustration. "I'm not going to…I'm never going to get old."

"Yes you will." Quil sighed. "We all get older. The whole 'staying the same age forever' thing only lasts a little…"

"I'm never going to get old." I shook my head. "I won't live to even be young! I won't make it to twenty most likely, and I definitely won't make it to thirty."

"What are you talking about?"

I told him my story. From his expression he hadn't heard it from my thoughts, although admittedly, I wasn't thinking about my troubles when I heard Jacob was in danger and that was the only time we had both been wolves.

When I finished, he stared at Jacob in shock.

"Did he know?" He gestured to the bed.

I nodded curtly and we sat in more silence. It wasn't uncomfortable though and it gave me time to think more.

"What are you thinking about?" Quil asked me sweetly.

"I'm thinking about how life is short and how my guardian angel must be drunk right now or chasing some lady angels."

Quil snorted. "That's an interesting analogy. A drunken angel…"

"He obviously isn't paying to much attention down here. So there must be something up there that is highly distracting." I explained defensively. "What about you?"

"Huh? Oh…um… I was thinking about you actually." He smiled briefly. "When you were younger that is. You were so…energetic. I remember that you bugged the heck out of me."

"I can say the same for you." I smiled at him, but the smile wasn't very happy. "You were an annoying brat as a kid. Sometimes you still are, but you seem to have gotten somewhat better."

"I think you are cured." He looked me over. "You're the more grown up one now."

"Were you ever the grown up one?"

He laughed. "Maybe you're not cured yet."

I turned his hand over and felt the lines on his palm. His hand was similar to Jacobs and it felt familiar. Quil watched me do this with an unreadable expression.

"Have you ever thought that maybe we aren't the only supernatural ones?" I asked him after a while. "That maybe if vampires, werewolves and ghosts all exist…maybe other things do to."

"Not really, why?"

"Just wondering." I leaned back in my chair. "Maybe there are witches and faeries or whatever."

"What do you think?"

"All stories come from somewhere, right?"

"Some are just made up."

"But what if they weren't?" I turned to face him. "What if there are other things out there?"

He thought for a moment. "Maybe they do." he said finally. "Maybe. But I'm just glad I don't know any witches or whatever."

I smiled. "Yeah, werewolves are enough."

We contemplated this for a while, but as always, my thoughts turned back to Jacob. If we both died, would we be together? Or would we be separated? If we weren't together I would be in hell. That would be the worst thing. To be away from Jacob forever.

I opened my eyes and realized that I had fallen asleep. I shook off the weird feeling and rubbed my arm, which I had slept on. It felt numb and as I shook it a cold feeling spread over it like ice water was trickling through my blood. I tested my fingers and it felt strange and abnormal. It felt like I was moving someone else's limb rather than my own.

Quil had left but Jacob hadn't moved; although that didn't come as a shock.

I fell asleep again in more comfortable position. It was late and the clock across the room said it was in the early morning. I awoke to the door being opened by the doctor.

"Oh, you're up." He smiled.

I mumbled a nonsense word back in agreement.

"That's good." He looked me over. "You should get some breakfast. The cafeteria just opened, although I could have someone bring something here for you. We're only supposed to do that for patients, but exceptions can be made."

"How can you be so happy this early in the morning?" I looked him over and didn't see a hint of sleepiness. "It's so early."

"Sleeping isn't a necessity for me." He flipped through the papers on his clipboard distractedly. "Anyways, I'm here to say some important news." His face became somber instantly.

"What's wrong?" I asked not even thinking that it was good news.

"The chances of his living have decreased. Normally if people don't wake up early on…"

"What's the percentage?"

He hesitated. "5"

I winced. The odds had definitely dropped considerably.

"I'm sorry." He looked at me with sympathy.

"Don't be." I shook my head. "It isn't your fault."

He looked as if he were about to say something, but then he stopped and left the room. Giving me privacy was very thoughtful of him, but I didn't care any more about who saw me cry.

"Jacob." I looked at him dejectedly. "It seems hopeless."

He said nothing to comfort me.

"Why would it happen to you? You are good to the core and further." I sniffed. "Why does it happen to you? You deserve so much better. You deserve better than this. You do."

I sighed and the gust of air made me cough. The coughing turned into hacking, which made me sound like I was a long-term smoker with asthma. I closed my eyes when I began to feel dizzy, but the coughing continued. After a while, I finally stopped.

My heart was racing and I was breathing carefully. I paid attention to each breath and discovered that I couldn't stop thinking about breathing.

My head swam and the colors came back into place. I still felt weak all over though. I closed my eyes and let myself sink back into sleep. I had just slept for about ten hours but I was still exhausted. It didn't make sense because I hadn't done anything other than sit in a chair and play with toy cars.

"Are you all right?" I felt someone shaking my body. It caused pain to ripple through me. "Nina?"

"Go away." I moaned.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" The voice sounded worried.

"Your shaking doesn't help." I was annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The shaking stopped. I opened my eyes to find Embry's face inches from my own. "What's wrong?"

"Feel sick." I murmured.

I felt his hand pushing away my hair and then feeling my forehead.

"Wow you're hot." He exclaimed. "I mean…no…not in that way…I mean you are…but…oh…I meant your temperature is hot for a werewolves. You must be really sick. We never get fevers."

I moaned and felt like I was about to puke. The moaning started a new cough, but I couldn't bring my hands up to cover my mouth.

"You poor thing." He stroked my hair and it felt good. "Let's get you home."

I wanted to object but couldn't summon the energy to move my mouth. It was hard just to think, let alone speak.

I felt myself being raised into the air by strong hands. He lifted me up as if I was a child even though I wasn't too light. I felt myself moving and knew something was wrong. I had to do something before I could go. I wanted to say goodbye to Jacob, but couldn't move my lips. He probably couldn't hear me anyways, but I felt guilty.

The motion of a car made me realize that Embry had gotten me to a car. I hadn't even noticed him putting me in or how long I had been in it. It felt like everything was going wrong, but I couldn't place it. Why was this happening?

"What hav…" I heard Quil ask but then break off. "Is that Nina? What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know." Embry sounded so sad. I wanted to reach out and comfort him. "I just walked in and she was like this."

"What's on her mouth?" Quil sounded terrified.

"She's been coughing up blood. It's really bad." Embry sounded scared for me. I couldn't understand. How could I cough up blood? Was that why it hurt so much?

I coughed again and I felt a hand hold my head up. I was being laid down onto a bed and two voices were talking rapidly. Everything grew faint like a light in a tunnel. Then I heard nothing.

She isn't dead. Don't worry. But it is the sadder side to the story so I am sorry…but it will be slightly less cheerful. I put in Max and Zach to make it slightly less depressing. 

Review _Review __**Review **__**Review **_**Review ****Review **Review


	31. Epilogue

Epilogue

NPOV:

Five years passed since that day, and I hated every second of each of those days. After a month of being in a coma, the doctors came to a conclusion that he would never recover. We had to pull the plug on Jacob.

The coughing was the first of many attacks. Over the past half-decade, they have grown more fierce and frequent. Quil refuses to even think of the possibility of me living on my own, and so I have crashed at his place for far too long.

Embry visits once in a while with his girlfriend, although he always looks at me sadly as if I am causing him pain by having these attacks.

Today, Quil let me out of the house to go on a walk by myself. For the first year he made sure that I had an escort to go everywhere so that I wouldn't be able to kill myself. I didn't try, and he slowly began to trust me.

Even so, it was rare to spend a nice day by myself in the woods and not just because of his fear of suicide. My attacks scare him worse.

I breathed in the fresh air raggedly. It felt cleaner than air inside. It tasted sweet like freedom. I smiled slowly at the thought of being free.

"Jacob." I closed my eyes and spread out my arms wide like I was an eagle. "Can you feel wind up there in heaven?"

Only the soft brush of air met me as a response, but it was all I needed. I knew it might sound stupid, but I had held more one sided conversations with Jacob over the last few years than I had held with anyone else.

I inhaled deeply through my nose. The smells were exciting and had a musty smell of a forest right after a long rain. The smell matched the color of the forest, if smells had a color that is. It was green and fresh.

Green was Jacob's favorite color. I found this out through Embry.

"Is it the green that you like about this place, Jacob?" I asked the trees.

My hair rustled with the wind. It may sound overly sentimental, but I had never cut my hair since I had met Jacob. I let it grow long until I was constantly sitting on it. I was glad though when the wind blew it because it felt good.

Suddenly, I started to feel dizzy. I reached out for something to steady myself and found a tree. I leaned against it and caught my breath. When I felt slightly more oriented I began to head back for Quil's house. I didn't want to have an attack out here.

As I moved though, I began to cough hard. My throat closed up and my vision began to tighten until I had almost no peripheral vision and spots blocked my eyes. _No…not now. _I thought. _I can't now. I can't have an attack…I'll die if I am alone._

Tears streamed down my face slowly. Could this be the end already? I liked the idea of dying in the forest, my only true home, but I couldn't bear the thought of dying alone. I wanted to say so much to Quil. I hadn't properly thanked him for everything he'd done.

Or Embry. I need to tell him that he was the sweetest person I had ever met. He had given so much up that first year to help save me. Without him I would be lost.

I needed to tell my aunt that I loved her. I hadn't shown it this last week and had argued with her about something. I couldn't remember it now, but I knew it was something silly.

I needed to do so much before I died. I wanted to see Jacob, but he was already gone. Would I see him when I died?

I choked from the tears and a cough. I felt something in my throat, probably blood, but I couldn't cough it up. I wished that death were a bit less painful.

The entire earth began to rock like a ship in the storm as I coughed until my throat had been rubbed raw. I tasted something salty and wondered if it was blood or tears. That strange thought made me laugh, or at least attempt to. All that happened was that I coughed more violently.

I don't want to die alone! I tried to shriek that phrase our but all that came was hacks of air and coughs. I couldn't say it, although that was the only phrase I heard repeated in my head.

I don't want to die alone. I can't die alone. All alone.

Realizing my eyes were closed, I tried to open them. I saw blackness. It couldn't be night. Maybe I hadn't opened them and only thought I did. I tried again. Nothing. I either didn't have enough energy to open my eyes, or I was blind.

I didn't want to die unable to see the world. I wanted a last look.

Gasping for air, I was beginning to recognize the earth under my palms. When did I fall down?

I attempted to call out for Jacob, but I had no voice.

_I'm here._ I heard him say in my head. I was deluded, but I enjoyed the delusions. At least there was one good thing about dying.

_Jacob? _I thought to him in the way I had learned five years ago to do as a wolf. I never tried to be a wolf again after Jacob died. _I have so much I want to say. I missed you so much. _

_Nina, try harder to breathe. You can still make it. _He pleaded. His voice was exactly as I remembered it. Crisp. _Why are you giving up so early?_

_I'm sick of trying. I can't fight any more. Waiting to die is worse than waiting for you to get better, you know. You could have tried harder to live._

_I tried my hardest for you. _His voice was filled with agony. I didn't like to hear him in pain. _I couldn't._

_What's it like being dead? _I asked, half knowing the answer already. I had been there once, but I was creeped out by it. Maybe it wasn't so bad when you were dead.

_Miserable. You aren't there._

_I can join you. _A light grew brighter and my vision had improved faintly until I could see through a pinprick.

_No, I can wait. _I could imagine his face while saying this. I was imagining this all, but it felt nice. The pain was fading slightly until it was only my throat burning. _You have a whole life to life._

_No, I don't._

He didn't say anything for a while and I grew panicked. _No, don't leave me. Don't make me go back to that pain. I can't. At least I'm not alone with you. I can't die alone._

_I didn't leave you. _The voice was back quickly to reassure me. _I never have and never will._

_That's good then._ I felt the burning pain grow less significant as the light grew wider. _Stay._

_It would be impossible for me to leave._

The light widened and I could see about a square inch now rather than a small dot. I had never realized how much I liked to see. Seeing was very good in comparison to darkness.

I heard a laugh. _I agree._

_So…are you just a figment of my imagination? Oh, no wait. Don't answer that. I don't want to know._

_Nina. _The voice sounded amused at me. _You're so funny._

_Thanks. _I wasn't sure if that was a complement though, because I wasn't trying to be funny. I think that he was laughing at me. _Am I dead?_

_No. _Jacob's voice turned pleading again. _You can still make it. Try to live for me._

_Okay…I'll try. _I was starting to give in to his lovely voice. It was so long since he had answered back to my conversations. I tried to inhale but I only felt more fire burning my throat. I didn't like it, so I stopped trying and sunk back down into this place where I couldn't feel.

_I hope you know, _The voice said slowly. _I did answer everything you said. You just couldn't hear. Oh, and by the way…my favorite color changed to silver._

_Silver? Why?_

_It's the color of you! _The light shone brighter until I could see a faint outline of a person standing in the distance. Their face was in darkness because the light was coming from behind them.

_Oh. _I had nothing to say, even though I wanted to talk to him so badly.

_I have a question for you. _This was the best hallucination I had ever had. Jacob's expression was to perfection. _Would you change it all if you could?_ _Would you rather have never met me if it meant that you could have been happier these last few years?_

_Never. _The question surprised me. _I led a mourning life for the last few years, but at least I knew there was someone for me. I had met you and felt the most happiness in my life, if only for a week or so. If I had stayed, I never would have met you and I would have been lonely._

I could see much more now. I saw an entire figure walking towards me with a hand outstretched. It was slightly fuzzy, but I wasn't going to look a horse down its nose. Seeing blurred images was better than seeing black emptiness.

_Nina…are you sure you don't want to go back? You're time is running out. _The voice had a tinge of happiness and sadness mixed together as if it wished I went back, but longed for me to stay. Angels were so confusing.

_I would rather stay here with you._

_Even if it means giving up your life?_

_I'd rather lose a life than give up you. You are more important. _I thought truthfully. _You always have been and always will._

_Well, then…welcome to heaven. _The figure reached out a hand for me to take and I raised my hand to take it. The second our fingers touched, the pain disappeared and the figure grew crystal clear.

Jacob stood there with a happy expression on his face. He looked taller than I remembered. I took a deep breath as I saw him and held it. This was definitely heaven. There was no way this could be hell.

"Jacob?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"I missed you so much!" he wrapped me up into a giant hug and covered the top of my head in kisses.

"I've missed you too." I sighed into his chest.

For a moment we stayed there, kissing and hugging. The feeling was so surreal that I was almost positive it would disappear in a minute and I would wake up in a bed. This was something that could only happen in my dreams, but this was a very good dream. It made up for every bad one that I had ever had.

"So…do you want a guided tour of the after life?" He smiled and looked at me.

I looked around; we were in the waiting room I had been in before during my attempt visit to my mother.

"You know what…" I looked at him with a devious smile on my face. "I think I would rather do something else instead."

I pulled his face down to me and we kissed a perfect kiss. Who cares if you are dead when your angel kisses so well?

**Sort of a happy ending. It was going to be sad and she was going to not end up with him…but you know….you guys liked the happy one. Vote on which ending I should keep please! I will delete one.**

**I'm now working on my other story about Aro. That one is different than this one because I think it is more fun to read. (hell to write, though)**

**Hugs and kisses for reviews. Or muffins. I have a fresh blood muffin, two fire muffins and a star wars muffin. Review first and you will get the first choice.**


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